An electrician charged thousands of pounds for 'shoddy' work at people's homes after his council worker girlfriend had illegally handed him contracts, a court heard. Sole

trader Steven Millard carried out various substandard jobs on two properties being looked after by Birmingham City Council, despite the fact his Solihull-based Trace Contracts business was

not one of the authority's approved contractors. Part of his racket was to charge £350 for pest control treatment when all he did was buy 'Big Cheese' rat poison worth £3.

READ MORE: BEDLAM ON THE RAMP AFTER BOY PULLED OUT MACHETE AND CHASED MALE INTO MCDONALD'S The 40-year-old was given the jobs by his then partner Deborah Whalley, who was alleged to be

Contracts was handed a nominal £10 fine. Ms Whalley had worked in the council's Funerals and Protection of Property Team, which takes care of vulnerable people's homes in the

event they are not able to live there and have no-one else to secure the property. That includes when homeowners are taken into care, have to spend a lengthy period in hospital or are

sectioned for mental health reasons. The council has a duty to ensure the home is secure and watertight, but not to carry out routine repairs. Prosecutor Mark Jackson said: "The

offending itself is part of wider allegations of fraudulent conduct on the part of Mr Millard's former partner Deborah Whalley who has passed away. "I'm conscious that what

I'm about to say against Ms Whalley are only allegations, which the Crown were to make at trial. "She entered not guilty pleas and didn't accept them. She has not been

convicted of anything." Ultimately Millard went on to confess his own wrongdoing after admitting he told a 'pack of lies' when denying the allegations in an interview. The

offences date back to 2017. One count related to him charging nearly £10,000 for work at the home of a 90-year-old man in Bournville Lane, which included plastering over a hole, fitting a

new kitchen, repairing blocked pipes and carrying out a deep clean. He was ultimately paid £6,888 for 'substandard work' which cost further thousands of pounds to put right. The

second offence related to Millard charging around £5,500 to secure doors, windows and the garage at an address in Wordsworth Road, Small Heath. Bizarrely, he fitted steel sheets to the

inside of the property rather than outside, causing substantial damage. Millard further demanded more than £5,000 in late payment penalty fees. Mr Jackson said: "Invoices were submitted

on a regular basis, which included as a far as Trace Contracts was concerned, supplying £135-a-time rat treatment. "First of all the council did rat treatment for free at the time.

"All he did was buy Big Cheese from B&Q that cost £3. He charged £135." He continued: "Steven Millard knew he wasn't an approved contractor to carry out works.

"He knew he shouldn't have been doing it. He must have known he was not qualified or had the skills to carry out work to a professional standard. "He would have got that from

the dreadful state of work he did. "He is clearly someone who can trade and has traded legitimately doing work properly. "If that's the case he knew this wasn't. He

didn't care. "He carried on because he was getting paid. He knew it was elderly and vulnerable people being ripped off. "He made a conscious decision and charged extortionate

prices for wholly deficient work." Lee Egan, defending, conceded Millard's actions went beyond 'shoddy work'. He stated the now married father-of-one had traded

legitimately before the offending and had continued to run Trace Contracts legitimately since, with customers providing positive testimonials about the standard of his work. The barrister

told the court the business made a £76,000 profit in 2023. He said the position was 'gloomier' in 2024 when a 'bad debt' left him with profits of just over £23,000.

Recorder Rebecca Wade KC, passing sentence, stated Millard was 'complicit in targeting and exploiting vulnerable victims for financial gain'. Referring to a pre-sentence report she

added: "It was disappointing to read you lack empathy for your victims and minimised your wrongdoing, preferring to blame your deceased former partner rather than express genuine

remorse." Recorder Wade ruled to suspend imprisonment due Millard's 'realistic prospect of rehabilitation', but said his 'thinking skills and victim awareness

require some work'. Recorder Rebecca Wade KC added: "The allegations against Deborah Whalley remain unproved given she sadly passed away before trial. But the evidence in my

judgement supports the conclusion that Deborah Whalley, with whom you were in a relationship, fraudulently gave contracts to you to carry out such works." She ordered him to carry out

35 days of rehabilitation activity, 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £5,000 in costs.