A cowboy builder who conned a customer out of more than £30,000 for home improvements has been hauled before a court.

Wayne Miller, from Lydd, deliberately concealed his bankrupt status from his victim, and abandoned the building project in Canterbury when it was nowhere near finished.

Miller agreed to take on the work starting in March 2018, which would include a new kitchen and a two-storey extension - promising a turnaround of eight weeks.

The client had agreed to a total cost of £43,528 - paid in five equal instalments of £8,705.60 - with the first payment made in December 2017, prior to any work on the property starting.

And just weeks before work began on the project, Miller arranged for the customer to speak with a kitchen designer.

He told his victim he could order the kitchen on his behalf, as he had a trade account with the company.

But despite being paid a further £7,823 to fund this, Miller never made any payments to the kitchen company for the purchase.

Work on the project ground to a halt by April 2018, with the builder making a number of excuses and not carrying out any further building work on the property.

In total, the victim made payments of £36,190 to Miller.

Miller, of Romney Road, Lydd, also promised to repay the customer for the unfinished work and goods, but no payments were ever made.

The 55-year-old was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 12 months, when he appeared at Southwark Crown Court on October 15.

He was also ordered to repay £18,000 in compensation to his victim and a further £1,000 in costs.

Miller also made a payment of £7,500 to the victim at an earlier date.

“It caused a great deal of distress and inconvenience to his victim…”

Chris Wood, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Wayne Miller convinced a customer to pay him more than £30,000 for home renovations which he did not complete.

“His actions in concealing his bankrupt status involved a significant amount of deception which caused a great deal of distress and inconvenience to his victim.

“The public deserves protection from those who have been unable to pay their debts previously. That is why those declared bankrupt are required to inform would-be creditors of their status so they can make informed decisions on whether to hand money over to them or not.

“The customer in this case was not afforded this opportunity and would never have engaged his services or handed over such substantial sums of money if he had known about Miller’s financial history.”

Miller had been previously declared bankrupt in January 2016 following a petition from HM Revenue and Customs.

His bankruptcy remains ongoing as he failed to make all the payments required of him under the terms of an income payment agreement with the Official Receiver.

Individuals subject to a bankruptcy order must disclose their status if they borrow or obtain credit of £500 or more.

Those declared bankrupt who are self-employed or are going to start their own business as a sole trader must use the same name the bankruptcy order was made in.