£600,000 bill to fix a £650 crack

A gang of cowboy builders fleeced a company director of £600,000 for repairs he didn't need to his two-bedroom home, a court has heard.

Over two years Peter Staveley, 44, paid out more than three times the value of the house.



It began when he agreed to pay £650 to fix a crack in his wall but the conmen began finding other faults with his property, it was claimed.

Mr Staveley, who has a degree and runs his own transport consultancy business, showed the court spreadsheets he prepared detailing the huge sums he paid out totalling £633,900.

His loss was revealed at Guildford Crown Court where Margaret Murphy, 51, is accused of 26 counts of laundering money the gang received.