A landscape gardener who defrauded his victims out of thousands of pounds has pleaded guilty to a string of offences. 

Darren Moore, 42, of Rose Cottage in Camp Road, Wimbledon, appeared at Suffolk Magistrates' Court on Monday, and pleaded guilty to defrauding his victims following a Suffolk Trading Standards investigation. 

Moore operated across Suffolk under the name Darren Moore Garden Landscaping & DIY.

Suffolk Trading Standards first became aware of his actions in April 2022, and a subsequent investigation revealed eight further witnesses, who allegedly paid a total of £10,800 to Moore.

They alleged he had acted dishonestly by taking payment for his services despite failing to complete the work.

A total of £2,900 was refunded to three customers, leaving the rest out of pocket by almost £8,000.

At Suffolk Magistrates' Court, Moore pleaded guilty to carrying out garden landscaping work for a fraudulent purpose, contrary to Section 9 of the Fraud Act 2006. 

He will be sentenced in July.

Graham Crisp, head of Suffolk Trading Standards, said: “The actions of Darren Moore have caused financial loss and significant distress to his victims who placed their trust and good faith in him only to be let down and fed a web of lies about why he was unable to carry out the agreed work.

“Despite making almost £8,000 in ill-gotten gains from defrauding innocent people, Moore has not co-operated with our investigation leaving us with no choice but to seek a conviction due to the severity of his crimes.

“We are very grateful to the wronged consumers who brought his despicable behaviour to light; their bravery has stopped other people in Suffolk from suffering a similar fate at the hands of Moore and will see justice served.”