Conman builder lied about £20k burglary

The 40-year-old was jailed for 18 months this week after admitting pocketing £85,000 worth of deposits for 21 conservatories that he either failed to put up or never completed.

Scheming Lewis duped Paula Wilkinson and her train driver husband David out of thousands of pounds. The £11,200 job was expected to last two weeks but took months and was not properly finished by Lewis forcing the couple for fork out over £2,000 more to pay a plasterer, electrician and another builder to complete the work.

Mrs Wilkinson, aged 48, confessed at their Broadwaters Road, Darlaston home: "I feel savage about the way that we were treated."

She told how Lewis took a £5,200 deposit, promised £400 compensation after the projected start date in August 2012 was delayed and then turned up at their home.

Mrs Wilkinson explained: "He looked down in the mouth and told me he had been burgled and that the criminals had ripped a safe off the wall with £20,000 cash in it.

"Then he said that because of the crime he did not have any money to continue our build. He asked for a further £2,800 which my husband put into his account through bank transfer because we did not want to risk wasting the money we had already paid him for the job."

Lewis then made increasing irregular appearances at their home as weeks dragged into months but when he did turn up he talked about 'a friend' who had developed a gambling habit.

Mrs Wilkinson recalled: "He would say things like 'my mate lost £2,000 down the casino last night.' He talked about gambling all the time.

It soon became obvious to me that it was him and not a mate who had the problem.

"But he still had not finished the job. He would appear for a few hours here and there. Then he stopped answering when I phoned to find out where he was. I went round to his house where his van was in the drive but there was no answer.

She said that eventually one of his relatives phoned and said they were trying to resolve the problems. "He suggested we buy our conservatory direct from the supplier who had already built it to our specifications. We paid £4,500 and it was delivered to our address where a friend of Simon's put it up for him."

However the couple still had to pay for other workmen to finish the job and in total it cost them £2,000 more than it should have.

Lewis, formerly of Castlebridge Road, but now of Bealeys Avenue, Wednesfield, admitted fraud involving 21 customers he left in the lurch.