Cowboy builder turned our family home into a bombsite and spent our £57,000 on holidays and horses - we argued every day and it ruined years of our lives

A family who paid out £57,000 to a rogue builder have spoken of their relief after he was jailed.

Claire and Dave Eddon were horrified when their builder, Chris Williams, vanished after just two weeks of work, following which barely any progress was made.

For months, Williams blamed poor weather, cashflow, illness, and unreliable tradesmen. But all the while, he was posting on social media about his holidays and days out at the races.

Realising their money was gone, the family pressed for trading standards to pursue Williams and in December he was jailed for two years after admitting one count of theft and three counts of fraud by false representation.

Dave, 42, from Flintshire, says: 'We did everything right; we met him a few times, we checked his reviews, we even spoke with people he'd worked for.

'We could never have envisaged the nightmare that was coming our way. We paid out nearly £5,000 for a few weeks of work and we will never get that back.

Claire and Dave Eddon wanted to build a two-storey extension at their Flintshire home to create an extra bedroom for their children 

After two weeks, builder Chris Williams halted work and left them living in a dangerous construction site 

'We were told by another builder that a beam under our daughter's bedroom had been measured and placed incorrectly and if not rectified would be unsafe long term. 

'There was unfinished work in the dining room, and the garden was a dangerous bombsite. We had to live with that for months.

'We went to court, not for ourselves, but to make others aware. We'd like legislation changed so that builders are more tightly regulated. Williams was free to continue taking money from people right up to his court appearance which just isn't right.'

Dave, a marketing manager, and Claire, employed Williams in 2022 after checking his online reviews and texting his previous clients. He quoted £100,000 to build and manage a two-storey extension including a new kitchen at their home in North Wales.

Claire, 40, says: 'We have three small children, and we needed an extra bedroom because we were not getting any sleep. The irony was, we got no sleep because of all the worry which followed.

'We found Chris online and he had lots of good reviews. After we met, he gave us contacts for previous customers who gave him positive reviews too. He seemed like a perfectly normal guy.'

Builder Chris Williams had lots of good reviews online and the Eddons felt they could trust him 

Claire and Dave were hoping to get more sleep by creating extra space for their children, but were left in a state of constant stress and were arguing every day 

They paid Williams £56,804 and work began in September 2022. But two weeks on, it suddenly stopped and from then, there was barely any progress.

Claire says: 'We were patient at first, we understood it might take time. But weeks passed and barely anything happened. Chris made one excuse after another; he was sick, he was busy, the weather was bad.'

Ten weeks later, they were becoming desperate.

Claire, a teacher, says: 'The bricklayer told us he wouldn't return because Williams hadn't paid him. Our tradesmen told us Williams had gambled all his money away over Christmas.

'On social media, we saw photos of him going to football matches, the races and on holiday – with our money.

'Our garden was dangerous and inaccessible. A beam under our daughter's bedroom was potentially unsafe. We were in limbo.

'Dave and I never argue but we clashed every day on how best to deal with Chris. I wasn't sleeping and I ended up on medication for anxiety. It was a nightmare.'

The back of the couple's home during the abandoned build. Their garden was too dangerous to access and a beam under their daughter's bedroom was potentially unsafe

In January 2023, another disgruntled customer knocked at their door to say Chris had taken their money and vanished mid-project.

Claire says: 'The man was polite, but I was starting to worry for our safety. Chris was upsetting a lot of people. By now, we were realising we would never see our money again and it was devastating.'

The couple managed to contact seven other families who had grievances against Williams and together they formed a group and approached trading standards.

Dave says: 'Trading standards agreed to support us but meanwhile Chris was allowed to continue working as a builder which was unbelievable. 

'We found out he was about to go bankrupt for the third time but was still allowed to trade.'

The bricklayer refused to return to complete the project because he hadn't been paid by Williams 

As well as losing £57,000 the couple had to pay an additional £60,000 to get the project completed 

Meanwhile the couple tried to find a new builder.

Claire says: 'Nobody wanted to touch the work because it had been started by another builder. There were safety concerns and so other builders didn't want to be involved.

'We ended up paying tradesmen individually, and Dave did much of the work himself, on top of his full-time job in marketing. Obviously, it took much longer, and we lived in a building site for months.

The couple paid out a further £60,000 to get the project completed – not including the cost of Dave's labour.

Claire says: 'The financial impact has been massive, but we are so lucky that we managed to at least complete the work eventually. There are others in much worse situations. But the emotional impact for us all is horrendous.

'It ruined years of our lives. It caused daily arguments. I worried for the children and about who might turn up at the door next. I have never known stress like that and there was no escape because we were living in the middle of it.'

Christian Williams, 53, was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment at Mold Crown Court on December 10 after admitting one count of theft and three counts of fraud by false representation.