Builder jailed for fraud after dangerous loft conversion

A builder has been sentenced for fraud after a Gainsborough family had to move out due to a botched loft conversion that left their home at risk of collapsing.

James Quinn, who claimed to have 20 years of experience in loft conversions, offered to complete the work for £3,000, according to Lincolnshire County Council.

After a few weeks, the concerned family contacted the council’s building control, and a structural engineer confirmed the house was unsafe because Quinn had cut out all the supporting beams in the roof.

The family, including their young children, had to move out, and the roof and ceilings were propped up for 13 weeks.

Another builder later made the loft and roof safe at an additional cost of £8,000.

Quinn, 43, of Ropery Road, Gainsborough, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud at Lincoln Crown Court. He was sentenced to 19 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to pay £400 in compensation.

Lincolnshire Trading Standards senior officer Sally Gray said: “They’d tried to do everything right but they were completely drawn in by Quinn’s lies. Luckily, because they’d noticed that things didn’t look right early on, they had only paid him £900 of the £3,000 quoted.

“We often think about rogue traders targeting older or vulnerable people, but this heartbreaking case shows that some unscrupulous individuals will take advantage of anyone, no matter their circumstances, and convince them that they can do work that they can’t.”