Manchester City Magistrates ruled on Friday that Francis James Tomney and Thomas Michael Tomney must repay another £370,000 to 42 victims under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Frank Tomney Snr, 55, and his 21-year-old twin sons Frank Tomney Jnr, and Thomas Tomney were jailed for a total of 15 years last November after Preston Crown Court heard how they targeted addresses across Lancashire, Manchester and Hertfordshire.

The family were also ordered to pay back £955,000 to their victims or face further time in jail.

The court heard Tomneys carried out substandard work on driveways for extortionate prices.

Detective Inspector Glen Jones, from Greater Manchester Police’s Financial Investigation Unit, said: “Today’s result is the culmination of years of hard work by our officers to ensure justice for the dozens of elderly and vulnerable people who were conned out of their savings by these cowboy builders.

“Some of the stories we were told by these victims about the standard of work undertaken by the Tomneys were shocking.

“But equally, we were also moved by the sheer tenacity of some of those victims, who despite their age, were not simply not prepared to let them get away with it, and let the Tomneys pocket their hard-earned cash.

“This has been a long and complicated process, but I am absolutely delighted that we have finally secured justice for those victims and they will be repaid, in full. Today is a victory for them.”

Detective Chief Insp Tim Leeson, Lancashire Constabulary, said: “The Tomneys deliberately hoarded away the money that they had made by conning their elderly and vulnerable victims so that they would avoid scrutiny from the authorities- particularly the tax man.

“Their shoddy and often dangerous building work has left many people out of pocket, and in some cases has decimated pensioners’ life savings, so it is only fair that this money is used to compensate the victims for their ordeal.”