Pictured: The botched builder’s job which cost customers £90,000

Footage of the appalling work carried out by a rogue builder in Cornwall shows how shoddy the work was as he was jailed for 16 months after his customers lost £90,000.

Leonard Jesse James Richards, 24, carried out roofing and building work for three clients in Cornwall during 2022 and 2023. Richards, of Whitemoor, St Austell, even lied to a client that his wife died to avoid returning to one of the jobs.

In one case, Richards worked to convert a holiday home and, in the homeowner’s words, “created a scene of devastation”. Load-bearing walls were removed without proper roof support, plumbing was poor, and electrical wiring was left in a dangerous condition.

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At another property, the owners were looking to clear the moss from their roof and clean the gutters. They also wanted the roof of their garden room repaired. Richards pressured the residents to agree to replace the roof of the garden room, even though a repair was probably all that was needed.

He encouraged the quick payment of £3,800 to get new roof trusses as quickly as possible and created a fake invoice from a fictitious timber company to give false assurance that the trusses had been ordered. Richards then failed to advance the work and the rain caused water damage due to the larger holes Richards made when he broke the original tiles.

In his sentencing remarks, Mr Recorder Simon Levene said the offenses were far too serious for anything other than a prison sentence. “You have destroyed the lives, albeit temporarily in some cases, of three households,” he said, saying there was no way the victims would “get a dime back.”

You can read more from the court case here. To see photos of Richards’ work, scroll down.

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