Leighton Walkley, 46, has been ordered to pay back £30,00 after he carried out shoddy work for a family in Caerphilly and eventually left before completing the job, a court heard
A rogue builder whose shoddy work included a sewage leak before abandoning the work has been ordered to pay back £30,000.
Leighton Walkley, 46, carried out work at his victims’ home in Caerphilly between August 2021 and July 2022 while trading under the name L&B Brickwork. He left the home in a state of disrepair and the stress contributed to suicidal feelings for the owners, a court heard.
The couple employed him to carry out an extension on their home, as well as a patio and the building of a summerhouse. The victims were expecting a baby and hoped for the work to be completed within eight to 10 weeks before the baby’s birth, Cardiff Crown Court was told.
The job began on August 3, 2021 but it had not been completed by the birth of the couple’s son in September 2021 and it slowed down due to the defendant carrying out other jobs.
Work was sporadic between September and December 2021 with excuses being made by Walkley as to why he could not attend. It picked back up in January 2022 but in March further issues arose and the defendant and his labourers disappeared. By this time the victims’ property was having multiple leaks.
By July 2022 there was a raw sewage leak in the garden and the victims contacted Welsh Water who discovered that pipes had been cut but were resealed to the wrong pipe, which led the sewage to pass through a redundant line. This issue was later repaired by the defendant, the court was told.
Prosecutor Amelia Pike said: “Throughout the indictment period the victims were contacted by Mr Walkley where he demanded more money to deliver materials and complete the work. The victims felt they had no option but to pay the money so work would be completed. Mr Walkley later abandoned the works and ceased contact with the complainants who felt they had no option but to commence legal proceedings.”
To date the works have not been completed and the couple lost a substantial amount of money and they cannot afford to complete the works. Ten transactions paid to Walkley came to a total of £70,377 with the estimated costs to repair and complete the work standing at £36,000, reported WalesOnline.
A report was carried out by Trading Standards following an examination of the house, which concluded the materials used were of an acceptable and suitable quality but in respect of areas that were incomplete the “substandard workmanship was evident”. The electrical installation had not been completed by a registered electrician. Parts of the roof were leaking near light fittings and the kitchen floor was uneven and in a dangerous state.
The summerhouse was in a structurally-impaired condition with the roof and sections of the wall at risk of collapsing. It was concluded the roof will have to be removed in its entirety and parts of the wall will have to be removed and rebuilt to the correct standard. The outside steps were also covered in rubble and in a dangerous condition.
Walkley, of Penyrheol, Caerphilly, pleaded guilty to engaging in a misleading commercial practice and engaging in a commercial practice which contravened the requirements of professional diligence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
He was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment suspended for two years and was also ordered to carry out 120 hours unpaid work. At a Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday heard Walkley benefited to the tune of £30,000 as a result of his offending. Judge Shomon Khan ordered the defendant to pay that sum.
