Jail for builder Rob Hayel who 'left homes at risk of collapse'
- Published
One customer said builder Rob Hayel he was very good at conning people
An "immoral" builder who left homes at risk of "catastrophic structural collapse" has been jailed.
Rob Hayel, 46, from Cardiff, pleaded guilty to two counts of participating in a fraudulent business - Hayel Construction and H & D Builders.
The former soldier was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court to two years and three months for each count, to run concurrently.
Hayel's crimes were exposed by BBC Wales' X-Ray programme in 2016.
Investigators at Cardiff Council told the court Hayel, who had served in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers between 1990 and 1999, was one of the worst offenders they have ever seen.
The prosecution related to eight separate properties.
Prosecutor Carl Harrison said one customer, Rosie Oretti from Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, hired Hayel to extend her home and fit a kitchen.
But his work caused a "large crack" in the property and left the house at risk of "catastrophic structural collapse".
'Nightmare'
Speaking to the X-Ray programme, Mrs Oretti said her home "just started collapsing".
"He was such a credible person, that was his job going around conning people and he was very, very good at it.
"We had no kitchen... we were literally cooking off of a camp stove for months on end... it was terrible, it was a nightmare."
An inspection of Mrs Oretti's home later found "serious structural issues" and "numerous contraventions of building regulations".
Hayel was exposed by BBC Wales' X-Ray programme
Hayel had previously failed to appear for sentencing and the judge issued a warrant for his arrest.
Sarah Smith, from the council, told the court: "The man acted with complete impunity, he was immoral in the way he took advantage of the consumers."
Sentencing him, Judge Richard Twomlow said: "You knew the money that you were taking could not provide the goods you said it would."
- Published24 February 2020
