Cowboy builder jailed for 14 years for £1.25m fraud

A prolific cowboy builder who defrauded 37 customers out of more than £1.25m has been jailed for 14 years.

Mark Killick, from Paulton in North East Somerset, also used the names Marc Cole and Mark Jenkins when he agreed to take on building work.

Between 2019 and 2021, while trading as TD Cole, he failed to complete work for dozens of customers despite many of them paying tens of thousands of pounds up front.

Sentencing Killick, 49, at Bristol Crown Court, Judge Macmillan told him he had caused "serious and ongoing" harm.

It is the fourth time Killick has been found guilty of fraud since 2008, and police estimate the 37 victims in this case collectively lost more than £1.25m.

During the lengthy trial the prosecution highlighted Killick's spending on luxury goods, including a £25,000 Rolex watch he claimed was an asset for the failing business.

Avon and Somerset Police and Trading Standards received more than 100 complaints against Killick covering a period between 2019 and 2021.

Killick, originally from Neath in South Wales, has asked the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal against his conviction.

In court, he said he had always run an honest business and did not intend to defraud his customers.

He said he would have completed all the outstanding jobs - including Mr Gledhill's - if he had not been arrested in November 2021.

"Of course I'm angry," said Stephen Gledhill from Bristol, one of Killick's customers.

"But I just feel sad for him [Killick] really that he's behaved in that way without any kind of real indication that he cares."