Rogue Shropshire builder cost couple £15,000 to put blunders right

Geoff Rollason and his wife Angela decided to transform the garage into a utility room at their home in Parkfield Road, Stourbridge.

They gave the job to Scott Lewis, from High Heath, Whitchurch, who was listed as an alleged member of the Federation of Master Builders,

Lewis estimated the work would take ten weeks to complete and cost £35,300, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

Three years later it has not been finished and the 55-year-old bodger has now received a five-month prison sentence suspended for two years after admitting two charges of unfair trading through lack of due diligence between 2016 and 2017.

His blunders included attempting gas work he was not trained to do.

Lewis also failed to connect a storm water drain to the sewer and put down a patio which had to be relaid, said Mr Richard Franck, prosecuting on behalf of Dudley Council.

“The standard of the work throughout was poor and Mr and Mrs Rollason were entitled to expect something far better,” Mr Franck added.

Lewis walked off the job without it being completed after receiving £32,000 towards the total cost of the project.

Some of his work was so bad Mr and Mrs Rollason have had to spend a further £11,000 correcting his faults with £4,000 more needed to finish it.

Ms Sarah Allen, defending, said he was forced to declare himself bankrupt, ruling out compensation for the Rollasons.

Judge Simon Ward told Lewis, who also received a tagged night time curfew until March 29: “This was a nightmare for the Rollasons because you were not sufficiently competent to mend your own mistakes.

“Your behaviour was not fraudulent but your inability to recognise you could not carry out work to a decent standard has cost this couple a considerable amount of money.”

Mrs Rollason said after the case: “We didn’t want it to happen to anybody else. We are pleased he got a tag for Christmas.”