A roofer in Tolworth was ordered to pay thousands of pounds in costs after being found trading unlawfully.

James (AKA Jimmy) Slater of Swallow Park Gypsy and Travellers site near Tolworth, was banned from continuing to unlawfully trade after an Interim Enforcement Order (under the Enterprise Act 2002) was granted by His Honour Judge Saggerson at the Royal Courts of Justice earlier this year (January 4).

Mr Slater was also ordered to pay back his victims £35,520, plus the costs incurred by Kingston Council (RBK) as a result of his "rogue" trading, amounting to £7,327.

The order came into effect on May 8 and Mr Slater could face jail time and an even heftier fine if it is breached.

A statement from RBK, who helped investigate the case, highlighted some of the rogue trading Mr Slater was involved in, which affected 13 residents in the area.

"Homeowners said Mr Slater had cold called them, taken their money, but either carried out no work or left the work incomplete.

"Many now have roof and gutter problems and damage to their properties caused by poor workmanship. Other tradesmen supplying him equipment like scaffolding or skip hire have not been paid, leaving homeowners subject to further issues," RBK said.

RBK added that the Trading Standards body on the council received almost 100 complaints about Mr Slater's activities since May 1998.

He was previously subject to a banning order in 2001 after action from the Office of Fair Trading that he breached, resulting in him being sent to prison in 2007.

A spokesperson for Kingston Council praised the court's trading ban and warned residents of dealing with doorstep traders.

"This is an excellent result for our trading standards team. We will continue to use all the options available to us to effectively target rogue traders to protect residents, including seeking compensation for their victims.

"We encourage residents never to do business on their doorstep. If they think work is needed on their property they should get a number of different written quotes from approved trusted trader schemes such as 'Trustmark' or 'Which Trusted Trader' before making any decision.

"If they are being pressured into agreeing to work because they are told it is urgent, they should contact their home insurer in the first instance for an assessment of any emergency repair work that may be needed."