ELDERLY Herefordshire people were deceived into buying unnecessary and overpriced loft insulation by rogue traders.

Herefordshire Council Trading Standards have obtained court injunctions against those involved in the running of Airtech Insulation Ltd, which while registered in Basingstoke actually operated out of the Bournemouth area targeting homeowners all over the country for unnecessary spray foam loft insulation which left many unable to sell their homes and having to pay thousands to have the foam removed.

Recorder Judge Sheehan at Worcester County Court imposed injunctions ordering the six defendants not to deceive consumers in any way. The order stays in place for 10 years. A breach of the order is contempt of court and can lead to a maximum of 2 years imprisonment.

The defendants were company director 71-year-old Stuart Gilmour, shareholders Heather and Leah Gilmour (69 and 43), all from Basingstoke, as well as three salesmen: 44-year-old Robert Henson and 57-year-old Cameron Andrews from Bournemouth and 52-year-old Mark Farrell from Liverpool.

Stuart Gilmour’s son, David Gilmour (43, from Basingstoke), had a similar injunction against him from December 2017 for running Air Tight Renewables Ltd in Bournemouth, a company which also sold spray foam loft insulation to the elderly.

In addition to the court injunctions, the judge ordered 5 of the defendants to pay a total of £66,129.00 in compensation for their victims. This covered full refunds and the cost of having the foam removed which is essential in each case.

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Charles Yarnold, Herefordshire Council’s Head of Regulatory and Technical Services said: “This was a long a complex case against Airtech Insulation Ltd which has had the desired outcome.

"In total 25 victim statements were obtained with the average age being 77.

"Spray foam can leave properties virtually unsaleable and compared to the recommended 270mm fibre glass wool insulation, spray foam will likely increase your heating bills, not reduce them as falsely claimed by the company."

“The only loft insulation most people should have is up to 270mm fibre glass wool or similar mineral wool products."