A COMPANY director from Almondsbury has pleaded guilty to six fraud charges.

Jim Coffey, director of block paving company Interlock Drives Ltd, admitted a range of criminal offences when he appeared at Bristol Crown Court.

The 34-year-old businessman, from Over Lane, pleaded guilty to a total of six charges under the Fraud Act 2006 and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. The company also admitted six similar offences.

The case comes after Trading Standards officers at South Gloucestershire Council received complaints from residents about some of the tactics employed by this company to secure business.

Concerns were raised about high pressure sales techniques, carrying out work which was not agreed and in one case a customer was misled into agreeing for unnecessary work to be done to cure an alleged algae problem on an outside wall of a house.

Neil Derrick, senior enforcement officer at South Gloucestershire Council, said: "This case has taken a long time to construct as it involved four victims over a period of a year.

"We were determined to protect our residents from these sorts of techniques and we are very pleased that Mr Coffey has pleaded guilty at this stage."

Trading Standards worked with Bristol City Council on the case following similar complaints about the company in the city.

Mark Pullin, Trading Standards officer and licensing manager for South Gloucestershire, said: "We are very happy to have worked closely with our colleagues in Bristol in combating these incidents of rogue trading."

Mr Coffey is due to be sentenced on June 14.