A cowboy gardener has admitted conning elderly and vulnerable victims, some of them in their 90s, out of thousands of pounds through offering sham services - some of which he advertised in this newspaper.

Benjamin Brown, 62, of Cox Lane, Epsom, pleaded guilty to eight counts of fraud and four of money-laundering, relating to sums of up to £665,000 at Guildford Crown Court last week.

The court heard he responded to any challenge over this with threats and aggression.

He was jointly prosecuted by Surrey, Buckinghamshire and Sutton trading standards.

Brown preyed on people unable to look after their gardens themselves, who mainly lived in Surrey, but also in Sutton, Wallington, Richmond and Twickenham.

He targeted his victims between 2006 and 2013 trading under the names Greenfingers Gardening and Homecare Property Maintenance, which offered services including landscape gardening, paving and fencing.

He advertised in local newspapers including the Epsom Guardian and its sister paper the Sutton Guardian, in parish magazines, and by posting adverts through doors but would charge people excessively for poor quality work.

From 2009: Benjamin Brown, then chairman of the Surrey Travellers Forum, speaking about the impact a new blanket ban on cold-calling on people's homes were having on the Gypsy and Traveller community

In 2009 he said: “What do we do? Don’t go out and try to knock doors to get a living? Go and sign on the dole and then live off the state. We don’t do that.

“We like to go to work and earn a living.”

He added: “If you do a job and it goes wrong, they’re not giving you a chance to rectify it, they’re coming straight along and nicking you for it.”

He also said: “I just think we’re being targeted, we’re being persecuted. I’m not prejudiced by any way, I like everybody and I try to get along with everybody.

“And being a born-again Christian you know God says we’ve got to love everybody and get along with everybody, we’ve got to love our enemies.

“Sometimes you might think it’s hard to do but that’s what we do. They couldn’t do to blacks, Chinese, or anything what they do to us."

His leaflets spoke of an “experienced, hard working husband and wife team”, how “gardening is our passion”, “no job is too small”.

Customers said their questions about the price and standard of work led to Brown threatening them and being aggressive.

In February 2013, a retired woman saw Brown's advert in the local newspaper and phoned him to carry out some landscape gardening.

Brown charged her £12,000, later reduced to £11,000, for work that he had been verbally quoted would cost between £4,000 and £6,000.

In a second case Brown was contacted by an elderly woman to carry out fence repairs in her garden after seeing his advert in the local paper.

She was charged £10,500 for a short run of fence and a gate.

When Brown completed the fence he proceeded to lift the garden patio slabs, despite being told to stop by the pensioner. Brown re-lay the path and charged her a further £1,500 which she paid.

Your Local Guardian:

One of Benjamin Brown's leaflets 

Surrey County councillor Richard Walsh said: "Brown charged excessive sums for poor quality work and intimidated customers who challenged him but, thanks to the diligent work of trading standards officers in both Surrey and Sutton, he has now been brought to justice."

Councillor Nick Emmerson, of Sutton Council trading standards, added: “Residents should always get several quotes before agreeing to employ a tradesperson and remember that they should expect to receive a cancellation notice from the trader and have the opportunity to cancel a contract within 14 days if it is made at home."

Brown will be sentenced on August 14.

Trading standards officers are aiming to get funds returned to his victims.

Were you a victim of Benjamin Brown? Contact Hardeep Matharu by calling 020 8722 6346 or emailing hmatharu@london.newsquest.co.uk.