A RETIRED electrician from Hatfield was among pensioners tricked out of thousands of pounds by conmen. Rogue builder Thomas O'Brien gave his victims one price for the work and, when the job was done, charged them much more. He had quoted

A RETIRED electrician from Hatfield was among pensioners tricked out of thousands of pounds by conmen.

Rogue builder Thomas O'Brien gave his victims one price for the work and, when the job was done, charged them much more.

He had quoted 88-year-old Joseph Armitage �3,000 for lifting slabs from the back garden of his Hatfield home. When he had finished, he charged the elderly man �6,200.

St Albans Crown Court heard Mr Armitage told police he felt "cheated and let down".

The court was also told about other cons carried out by O'Brien, 23, in Bushey and Park Street, including a recently-widowed woman.

David Chrimes, prosecuting, said: "The defendant had grossly overcharged."

O'Brien, a dad-of-two, of Meadowside on the A405 North Orbital Road, Watford, appeared for sentence having pleaded guilty to fraud.

Jailing him for nine months, Judge John Plumstead told O'Brien; "The people you deceived were extremely vulnerable people living on their own."

Co-defendant Lewis Shaw, 21, of Vivien Gardens, Watford, admitted laundering O'Brien's money through his bank account.

He was ordered to complete 80 hours unpaid work, go under supervision for 15 months and pay �250 prosecution costs.