A JURY has been told not to speculate as to why a builder accused of cheating a pensioner out of tens of thousands of pounds is no longer in the dock for his trial.

The panel of seven women and five men were given the instruction before being sent home for the night as they consider their verdicts on John Hart, who denies fraud.

The tradesman is said to have taken cheques for £34,500 from 76-year-old David Taylor for work which was either never done or not necessary.

But Hart, of Pokesdown, Bournemouth, denies fraud saying all the work he did at the Old Town house was agreed with the pensioner.

Judge Tim Mousley QC told the jury at Swindon Crown Court “You must not speculate as to why he is not here.

“His absence is not evidence against him and it must not affect your judgement in any way.

“And the fact he is not here does not affect the task you must carry out, and that is to decide whether he is guilty of the charge against him. It is irrelevant.”

Hart is said to have overcharged for shoddy work on the pensioner’s mid-terraced house on The Mall.

And the builder is also said to have hacked a hole in the bedroom ceiling when the pensioner was at the dentist in a bid to generate more work for himself.

In his summing up the judge told the jury that the Crown’s case was the work wasn’t all needed, the amount charged was not a fair price and work needed would not be completed in an acceptable manner.

Simon Foster, prosecuting, said Mr Taylor, had been described as a ‘confused and timid gentleman’.

He said he called a builder from an ad in the Thompson Local in October 2013 after finding a wet patch on the bathroom floor.

He said that work should have cost less than £150, but Hart charged £500, and then told him all sorts of other things needed to be done.

Within a month he had been handed six cheques on three different dates totalling £20,500, the court heard.

More than half of that, £13,000, was for a new bathroom which was still not completed ten months later, the jury was told.

Charles Leigh-Dugmore, a master builder, told the court that loft insulation at £4,000 could have been done for free under various schemes.

And he said that other work done by Hart, such as treatment to an alleged infestation in the loft, was either not necessary or up to scratch.

The jury also heard how in August 2014 plumber Steve Longman, carrying out work as a subcontractor for Hart, saw him smashing a hole in the bedroom ceiling.

When Mr Taylor got back from the dentist that morning he said the defendant told him the masonry had come down and needed £7,000 to repair it, which was handed over.

But the following day Mr Longman said he found out how much Hart had taken from the old man and told him to call the police.

Les Smith, defending, told the jury that his client, who did not give evidence as he was not in court, had not acted dishonestly.

He said that the assessment from the expert did not factor in the value of work to be done as well as what had been carried out.

Hart denies fraud and the case continues.