A Salford roofer has been sentenced after leaving an elderly widow with a badly damaged roof and £12,887 out of pocket.
Roofer Christopher Parr (26/07/1988) of Filey Drive, Salford, was sentenced at at Preston Crown Court today (Friday 17 January 2025).
Parr has been sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay full compensation of £12,887 to his victim.
Christopher Parr, trading as Up and Over Roofing and Building, was originally called out to look at a leaking skylight.
But he quickly claimed additional work was needed, which was agreed to by the victim, and while this work was being undertaken, he removed roof tiles from a large section of the roof.
Following the removal he continued to tell the victim that this part of the roof had to be replaced – after removing the tiles already.
The victim believed that she had no alternative to the matter and agreed to the work making five payments to Parr’s bank account totalling £7,800.
Following the payment, Parr would then leave the area of the roof exposed and failed to return to complete the work, giving the widow excuses of why the work was unable to be completed.
The excuses included being repeatedly let down by scaffolders, that the weather was too bad to work on the roof, he crashed his van, his child and wife were seriously ill and he had been diagnosed with cancer.
During this period the exposed roof felt the torment of the winter months, with the victim being left with no choice to higher another trader to reinstall the roof, at a cost of £4,777.
The victim also had to pay a further £300 for redecoration of a room due to a leak in the roof when it was left exposed to the elements by Parr.
Following the reinstallation Salford City Council’s Trading Standards team were contacted about this case, they instructed an independent expert to provide a report on the work undertaken.
The report concluded that the work that had been done was of a very poor standard, the value of the work undertaken was zero and the victim would incur additional costs in rectifying the work.
The report also stated that it was highly unlikely, based on the rest of the roof, that the roof Parr had removed needed replacing, as he had claimed.
Following the report, the Trading Standards Officer invited Parr to an interview where he was under caution – however, after multiple opportunities to attend the interview to detail what had occurred but failed to do so.
With Parr not attending the interview with multiple occasions, he was summoned to court, but failed to attend the first hearing in August 2024.
As a result a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Parr was also being investigated by Lancashire Trading Standards for similar offences, for which he was found guilty of in his absence as he failed to attend the trial after pleading not guilty.
As the roofer failed to attend court for this trial, a warrant was issued for his arrest to bring him to court for sentencing.
On 17 October 2024 Parr was arrested in relation to the Lancashire Trading Standards case and taken to Preston Magistrates Court where he was put on remand, pending a hearing on 24 October 2024.
At this hearing, he pleaded not guilty for the Salford case, electing to have the matter passed up to Crown Court. It was decided that he would be sentenced for the Lancashire case after the Salford trial.
Parr was also being investigated for bail offences and a benefit fraud case also pending in relation, brought by the CPS.
The former roofer would then change his plea to guilty for the Salford case at a Pre-Trial Preparation Hearing at Preston Crown Court so the trial did not go ahead.
Since then he has been held on remand, and was sentenced to repaying the Lancashire victim £1,300 compensation.
Parr also received a prison sentence for this case and benefit fraud cases, bringing his total custodial sentence to 39 months.
Following the sentencing, Councillor Barbara Bentham, lead member for neighbourhoods, environment and community safety said: “I’m pleased to hear this sentence today and I hope it sends a strong message to rogue traders who prey on vulnerable people in our city.
“Our Trading Standards team have worked tirelessly to bring this offender to justice and will continue to investigate and prosecute those who think they are above the law.”
Anyone who has concerns about rogue traders in Salford should contact the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or go to www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer
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