Somerset's 'worst rogue builder' Mark Buck jailed

South West Trading Standards said Buck was "one of the worst rogue builders" they have ever had to deal with

A builder who inflicted untold mental stress on his customers has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Mark Buck, 49, from Somerset, took money from customers but left them with water pouring through their ceilings and ditches outside their homes.

Buck was sentenced earlier at Bristol Crown Court after he admitted fraudulent trading.

South West Trading Standards said he was "one of the worst rogue builders" it had ever had to deal with.

Claire Snook, from Portishead, said she was was left £60,000 out of pocket after asking Buck to build a loft conversion in 2018

Buck, of The Old Barn, Chelwood, Compton Dando, also called himself Mark Budd, Mark Bailey and Mark Brown.

He traded as I Build 4 U, MB Construction, MB Building Services and Ashlar SW Ltd among others and declared himself bankrupt twice.

Sentencing him, Recorder Happold said his victims had suffered financially as well as emotionally, and that he could have stopped at any time - but chose not to.

Claire Snook, from Portishead, said she was left £60,000 out of pocket after asking him to build a loft conversion in 2018.

He asked for a large deposit upfront, but work stalled soon after he started.

Claire Snook said dealing with Buck had been "horrendous"

Ms Snook said her roof was left unfinished for months, including during the "Beast From The East" storm, when water came into the house.

She said: "I'm a disabled woman and I was taking care of my elderly mother.

"We were both living in this house that was not waterproof in the winter.

"We had weather coming in and everything was leaking. We were terrified to use the electrics in the house, in the depth of winter."

Ms Snook's roof was left unfinished, tiles were not replaced and rain poured into the house for months

Ms Snook has spent the past two years completing and repairing the work at her own expense.

She said: "You cannot imagine the impact that has on your mental health.

"You know that you have to go home to this building site, and you have no idea when it's going to be finished.

"You have no idea how you're going to be able to afford to pay to get this finished. It's been indescribable."

Rik and Jo Clews employed Buck to carry out a kitchen extension

Foster carers Rik and Jo Clews, from Trowbridge, Wiltshire, contracted Buck to build a kitchen extension in summer 2019.

Work started quickly but Buck soon stopped.

The couple was left with a huge ditch that filled with water outside their house for several months.

Mrs Clews said: "They admitted to us when they were doing the drains they had no idea what they were doing.

"In the end I found a YouTube video on what to do with the drains and gave them instructions, because they were literally digging holes in places they didn't know."

Rik and Jo Clews were left with a moat outside their back door

Mrs Clews was diagnosed with cancer while the building work remained unfinished.

She said: "I couldn't really believe somebody can do that to you when you're on rock bottom.

"We were in the hospital waiting room waiting to go in for an operation, and we have a phone call from his suppliers saying they haven't been paid.

"The mental stress was horrendous."

Timbers were left unsecured, which could have pulled the back of the house down

Many of Buck's victims found support in a Facebook "survivors' group", which has nearly 100 members, including tradespeople who said they had not been paid.

Trading Standards Officer for the south west, Francis Chalk, said: "I've been in Trading Standards for 30 years and I think he's probably one of the worst rogue builders we've ever had to deal with.

"He made promises to people about timescales which he could never keep.

"He took large amounts of money for items he never ordered - or ever supplied - and when he did do some building work, a lot of it was never completed."