Property scam caused 'immeasurable emotional toll'

Gary Shacklady and his wife were victims of a property scammer

A man who lost about £4,000 to a property scammer says he has suffered an "immeasurable emotional toll".

Gary Shacklady and his wife, who lives in Woodley, Berkshire, are still waiting to find out if they will get any of the lost money back.

Jason Cunningham, of Cardigan, Wales, was jailed for four-and-a-half years after crimes costing his victims more than £113,000.

The 39-year-old ran multiple property sourcing businesses from Craven Road in Newbury, where he persuaded 15 customers to pay non-refundable fees on properties - but many deals collapsed and refunds were refused.

The married couple engaged Cunningham's services to help them let out a property.

Cunningham used forged documents, tenancy agreements and a WhatsApp message to mislead victims and landlords.

"We started noticing that we were getting mail about a property that we didn't own," said Mr Shacklady .

"That's because he'd set up a contract in our name involving a different property without our knowledge."

Mr Shacklady told the BBC it had initially "all seemed legitimate" and Cunningham appeared to be experienced before the truth emerged.

"It was the emotional toll that was immeasurable," he said.

"I was feeling very down about things a lot of the time. [I had] a lot of anxiety every time I went out to do something, a lot of worry about starting new projects."

But he said he felt some relief after Cunningham was jailed in August after he was found guilty of two counts of fraudulent trading and five counts of using a false instrument following a nine-week trial.