A landscape gardener who fleeced customers out of thousands of pounds is free to run another business in the same line of work after being spared prison.
John Dunn pocketed £24,000 for work which he didn't do, leaving three people who paid his firm, MED Landscapes, out of pocket and angry. When one later spotted him getting out of his Range Rover and confronted him, he was dismissive and just told him "It's business, these things happen".
As Dunn, 36, of Town Square, Wallsend, was sentenced for three counts of theft, a judge said he would give him the chance to prove his claim that he wants to "earn an honest living" by releasing him on a suspended prison sentence.
