Thomas Dexter, 35, initially quoted the family a price of £46,000 for the renovations, but this amount quickly increased to £49,680.

The family, consisting of a man, his young daughter, and pregnant wife, made regular payments to Dexter, totalling over £50,000.

However, the work was never finished, and the family was left in a dire financial situation.

Prosecutor Harry Crowson said: “There was a deposit of £800 given on the 6th of March and then a much higher deposit. Work began in April and the man and his wife made regular payments of £5,000 every two weeks to the defendant until the June, when he said more work needed to be done in the basement at £10,000.”

Leeds Crown Court heard Dexter made excuses for the delays, claiming illness and even using the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse.

He also falsely claimed to have inserted a steel beam in the property when, in reality, he had used a structurally unsound wooden one. The family only discovered this when they hired a contractual engineer to assess Dexter’s work.

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Upon realising the extent of the shoddy workmanship, the family confronted Dexter, who promised to reimburse them for the incomplete work. However, he never followed through on his promise and instead disappeared, leaving the family to deal with the aftermath. Mr Crowson added: “He left, never to return which led to flooding of the cellar which cost £20,000 to put right.

The impact on the family has been devastating. They were forced to find rented accommodation and take out loans to cover the costs of the unfinished work and repairs. They were even unable to afford Christmas presents for their daughter, and the financial strain has had a significant impact on their mental and physical health.

The man said: “We couldn’t afford Christmas presents for our daughter. My wife was pregnant at the time. We got an emergency bank loan which remains a significant outgoing payment and we had to take out a second mortgage, which we will be repaying until 2043. It has left us with a lifetime of debt.”

In a victim impact statement, the man said Dexter’s motivation had been “solely greed”. He said: “We entered into a contract and paid him our life savings – funds we had saved to build a family home in which to bring up our children.

“His lies made us doubt our own sanity. He left a dangerous and illegal wooden bean which could have collapsed and at any point bring down the first floor – where our daughter’s room was. He abandoned the job we had already paid him for.”

The man also expressed his fear that Dexter would seek revenge. When confronted about his actions, Dexter responded with a chilling message, saying, “You think I don’t know people? You can try and come at me all you like but that is not a threat.”

During the court proceedings, it was revealed Dexter had a history of similar offences, including a breach of a non-molestation order in a domestic context.

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Despite pleading guilty to fraud and sending threatening messages, Dexter showed little remorse for his actions, claiming the fallout should only amount to £100.

In mitigation, Dexter’s lawyer stated he is the sole provider for his fiance, baby daughter, and three other children under 10.

A probation worker told the court Dexter had said he had had “no intention” to threaten the family “but understands it could be taken that way.”

The court sentenced Dexter to a 24-month community order, during which he must complete 220 hours of unpaid work. Additionally, he was ordered to pay a £95 victim surcharge and £4,675 in compensation.

Following the sentencing, Dexter’s victim told YorkshireLive: “We are very pleased to see that the judge and the court recognised his guilt and threats.”

This article was crafted with the help of AI tools, which speed up Express.co.uk’s editorial research. A news editor reviewed this content before it was published. You can report any errors to [email protected].

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