A Royston father and his son have been jailed after conning elderly victims into handing over a total of £250,000 for extensive building works their homes didn’t need.

Shane Nedic, of Bramley Avenue, and his son Shane Nedic Jnr – of Egham in Surrey – were convicted for scamming elderly residents across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Surrey.

The pair conned their victims out of £250,000 over a four-year period – between 2012 and 2016 – and laundered the proceeds through their bank accounts.

Both plead guilty to fraud and money laundering – resulting in Nedic Snr, 61, being sentenced to five and a half years and Nedic Jnr, 38, sentenced to 30 months in prison at St Albans Crown Court on Thursday last week.

During the two-year investigation, it was discovered that the Nedics convinced their elderly and vulnerable victims to have minor works done to their homes.

Over the course of these works the Nedics would claim that more extensive work was needed, leading to one victim being charged more than £114,000. Nine victims were identified who had been targeted by the Nedics.

They operated under a range of business aliases such as Shane’s Building Services, Shane’s Property Maintenance and SL Guttering Services.

A third person 59-year-old Marie Turner, of Church Street, Biggleswade, was also convicted on 15 counts of money laundering. She was sentenced to six months, suspended for 18 months, under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Detective Inspector Luke Whinnett, from Herts police’s Serious Crime Investigation Team, said: “The Nedics callously targeted elderly and vulnerable victims that they knew they could intimidate and manipulate. In many cases they defrauded their victims of tens of thousands of pounds and also left them with large bills to repair the damage they had done to their homes.

“Trading Standards advise to never have work done by anyone who cold calls. No reputable trader ever approaches a customer in this way. If you think your home or garden needs work, please use a recommendation from friends/neighbours or find a good trader using the link below.

“You should also obtain three quotes to check if the price is competitive and if the work really needs doing - never rely on the word of a single trader.

“If anyone else feels they have been the victim of a similar fraud I urge them to contact Hertfordshire police on the non-emergency number 101.”