Trading standards officers are investigating a suspected rogue trader over a claim that he took £4,000 for work he never did.

Yvonne Robbins, 66, claims she paid Gary Wickham cash upfront to concrete her patio, relay her driveway, put up a fence and revamp her garden.

She says she gave Mr Wickham £1,410 on May 19 and £2,700 on May 27. But he failed to start the work.

Trading standards officers have received a string of other complaints in the past from customers making similar allegations about him.

On Tuesday, Mrs Robbins, of Church Hill, Newhaven, reported Mr Wickham, from Hailsham, to Sussex Police and East Sussex trading standards.

Mrs Robbins' husband John, a retired boat builder, died on April 2 aged 71. Just before he died, the couple paid Mr Wickham £800 to remove 12 trees from their garden.

In May, Mrs Robbins says she gave Mr Wickham a further £450 and her late husband's paint compressor to remove more trees from her garden.

The mother of five said: "I was satisfied with his work so I asked him for a quote for more work on the house and garden.

"He liked a nuclear bunker my husband had built in the garden. He said if I gave him the bunker, I would only have to pay the material costs and not the labour costs for the fence.

"This came to £1,410. I still had to pay £2,700 upfront, which was half of the total amount for the rest of the work. He arrived with a digger and tried to extract the bunker but the machine wasn't big enough. He then ordered another one but when it arrived he never turned up."

Mrs Robbins said she had to pay Hailsham Plant £590 to replace land around the bunker which had been removed. She claims she has not heard from Mr Wickham since.

In 2006, Mr Wickham, then of East Sussex Fencing, appeared before Eastbourne County Court after being the subject of six complaints from Eastbourne and Lewes customers.

He signed an undertaking stating he would complete work within a reasonable time of the period quoted and not make any false statements about the services offered by his business.

Mrs Robbins said: "This has been very traumatic for me. I gave him a week to resurface before I contacted trading standards and the police.

"I'm still getting over the loss of my husband and he has taken advantage of me because I was vulnerable.

"I cannot afford this. It was a massive part of my husband's savings."

Sussex Police confirmed it has received Mrs Robbins' complaint about Mr Wickham.

East Sussex trading standards said: "We are aware of this complaint and will be considering appropriate steps to ensure consumers are protected."

The Argus contacted Mr Wickham but he failed to return our calls.