I’m fuming after a cowboy builder conned our family out of £60k and left our home in RUINS

A COWBOY builder allegedly conned a family out of £60,000 and left their home in ruins.

Tomosz Krol, 39, and his wife Marta, 37, wanted an extension to their three-bedroom house but have instead spent two years "living on a building site".

The couple signed a contract with Lee Slocombe in 2021 - unaware he had served three years and seven months behind bars for fraud.

They agreed to pay £40,000 for two extra bedrooms and an en-suite at their £300,000 semi in Fairwater, Cardiff, but this quickly shot up to £60,000 as he "kept asking for more and more".

Almost none of the materials arrived and Slocombe then ditched the job part-way through, reportedly leaving the property in a state.

"It's been two years and we are living on a building site," Tomosz told .

"It’s dangerous for us and the children, and it's bitterly cold in the house during the winter."

The family, including 18-month-old Alijia and Tomosz's stepdaughter Oliwia, 16, have to negotiate temporary steps before entering a tunnel just to reach the side door of the house.

Their neighbours have also complained that the set-up is an eyesore in the street.

Tomosz has done what he can with the brickwork himself, but they are still left with exposed wires, scaffolding and half-finished plaster.

The dad-of-two said he only realised the builder had ripped him and other customers off after seeing a photo of him and reading about his history online.

Tomosz knew him as Lee Lewis but it transpired he was actually Lee Slocombe, who previously scammed three families out of a total of £43,000.

At Newport Crown Court in 2015, prosecutor Claire Pickthall described the tradesman as having told "barefaced" and "sophisticated" lies which left his victims with a "mountain of debt", reports.

He was handed a 43-month sentence after pleading guilty to three counts of fraud.

Tomosz said: "I nearly had a heart attack.

"I knew straight away we had lost our money".

Slocombe, from Swansea, featured on the Channel 5 programme Cowboy Builders which told the story of his deception.

But just months after being freed from prison, he set up two building firms and launched a string of fresh schemes.

It's been two years and we are living on a building site.

Tomosz Krol

Slocombe, listed as a director of LS Refurbishments Ltd and Kamlee Builders Ltd on Companies House, said he had taken extra care to follow the correct procedures after being locked up.

He told MailOnline: "I know I’ve been squeaky clean - I have all the invoices for the materials, architects drawings, the lot.

"I’ve spent just under £100,000 on Mr Krol’s job - I’m the one who is out of pocket.

"I quoted for a garage extension, but then they decided they wanted to extend the kitchen. It’s all added to their cost.

"We were delayed by Covid, then my three-year-old son was diagnosed with autism and asthma and another relative attempted suicide."

Slocombe denied ever using a false name and suggested Tomasz had confused him with the architect of the project, who is called Lewis.

"I’ve got a past, I’ve done my time and should not be judged by it," he added.