A Suffolk builder has agreed to stop trading until further notice in return for a waiver from prosecution for fraud.
Bill Simpson was handed a restraining order preventing him from carrying out or advertising future work.
The 60-year-old, of Hinton, near Saxmundham, was issued with the order following action by Suffolk Trading Standards.
He was due to stand trial at Ipswich Crown Court on Monday for allegedly carrying out substandard work on an elderly customer’s Lowestoft driveway – charging £1,775 for a job deemed to be worth £500.
Prosecutors offered no evidence in return for a post-acquittal order preventing him, or anyone acting on his behalf, from advertising or undertaking building, home improvement or maintenance.
Breaching the order could result in prison for the builder, who is said to be unable to work due to a bad back, and who was jailed in 2015 for carrying out roof repairs without permission.
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