A white van driver has denied being a member of a gang of rogue traders and told a jury he is a tree surgeon.

Thomas Maughan told Exeter Crown Court he had nothing to do with a series of deals in which customers in Newton Abbot, Dawlish and Seaton were allegedly overcharged for shoddy work.

He said his only role was to give fellow residents of a caravan site at Farringdon, near Exeter, lifts to jobs in his white Transit van.

The prosecution says Maughan was a key member of a plot to rip off mainly elderly and vulnerable customers for work on cleaning roofs or fixing driveways.

They say he was involved in setting up some of the jobs and demanding payments in cash from other customers and had been present or nearby when the work was carried out.

Trading Standards Officers and police have told the jury how they intervened in a series of transactions after complaints by the public.

They allege one customer in Newton Abbot was made to go to a cashpoint twice to pay for a shoddy cleaning job on her roof and that a man in Dawlish was asked to pay for work on a drive which was carried out against his will when he was on holiday.

The prosecution allege the group of men then moved their operation to Seaton, where they worked on two driveways and two roofs before demanding cash.

Bank staff raised the alarm in one case when a 93-year-old client came in to withdraw £5,000 in cash to pay for the work. Another 81-year-old alerted the authorities after being asked to pay cash for a job which he expected to pay for by cheque.

The prosecution allege they used the name Wimpey Construction Paving and Cleaning to suggest they were linked to the building firm and demanded payment in cash during or on completion of the work.

Thomas Maughan, aged 26, of Princes Paddock, Farringdon; Thomas Mahon, aged 45, of the same address, and Terence Maughan, aged 21, of Doncaster Road, Bristol, all deny conspiracy to defraud.

Matthew Latham, aged 35, also of Farringdon, has admitted the same offence.

Irish born Thomas Maughan, who is Terence Maughan’s cousin, said he played no part in any financial negotiations for any of the jobs.

He said he had not done any work on any of the jobs and was a tree surgeon rather than a paver or tarmacker.

He said he drove Latham to a job in Newton Abbot because the other man’s van had broken down and he took him, Mahon, another workman and his cousin to Seaton because Latham offered to pay him £50.

He told the jury neither he, Terence, or Mahon were involved in any of the four jobs in Seaton and he denied being the leader in negotiations about reducing the prices charged after the police were called.

He said: "There is no truth in the suggestion I was involved in any conspiracy. It is not true in any way. I have never had an agreement of that sort."

The other two men also deny being part of a conspiracy. Terence Maughan said he just went for a day out to Seaton with his cousin and Mahon says any work he did was lawful and done to a good quality for a fair price.