Shocking mess of £60k job left by Norfolk con-man builder

Pictures released by Norfolk Trading Standards show the extent of his botched work with supposed re-roofing left unfinished with tiles stripped and not replaced with only a leaky plastic tarpaulin keeping out the rain.

Theobald was employed to fix a leaking pipe but told the property owner her home needed to be reroofed (Image: Norfolk Trading Standards)

Wesley Theobald, 33, was initially employed to fix a leaking pipe at her property at Ashill, near Watton, instead he left it a chaotic building site with shoddy and unfinished work meaning it was open to the elements. 

READ MORE: Norfolk builder jailed for fleecing £73k from customers

The self-employed roofer, who also used the alias Wesley Moriarty, was jailed for three years at Norwich Crown Court after admitting 19 offences including theft and fraud.

The homeowner, who met the builder through an online advert seeking a builder for the initial minor job, said she had felt “entirely trapped and coerced”.

Theobald left work botched and unfinished despite charging tens of thousands (Image: Norfolk Trading Standards) The house in Ashill, near Watton, was left with a roof that was not weather proof causing the owner to have to move out (Image: Norfolk Trading Standards)

Wesley told her he had spotted a problem with roof tiles that needed to be urgently fixed at a cost of £2,800 but he later said the issue was worse than thought and required a complete re-roofing costing £7,000.

The bill rose a further £3,000 when he said the cost of replacement tiles had increased.

He then claimed there were problems with the gables of her property that also required repairs at a cost of a further £13,000.

None of the jobs were completed properly. When the homeowner eventually sought an independent survey it concluded his work had been “unnecessary and poorly carried out”. 

Con-man builder Wesley Theobald has been jailed for three years (Image: Facebook)  

Wesley's year-long criminal activities began in July 2022 just weeks after he had been released from prison for similar offences.

READ MORE: Rogue trader jailed after taking thousands of pounds from customers

It also saw him fleece a 73-year-old from Norwich who initially employed him to repair a garage roof but was left almost £7,000 out of pocket. 

And a woman in Dereham lost £4,750 when he said her roof needed to be replaced despite only having been employed to clean it.

Sophie Leney head of Norfolk Trading Standards (Image: Norfolk County Council)

Sophie Leney, head of Norfolk County Council’s trading standards team, said: “We would like to thank the complainants for coming forward and assisting with important evidence in this case. It is vital that rogue traders like Theobald are prosecuted.

“Despite previous convictions resulting in custodial sentences, he continued to take money from customers for materials and work that was not completed. He also failed to comply with a criminal behaviour order, imposed as a result of those previous offences.

"We hope that this latest sentence reinforces the message that Norfolk Trading Standards will continue to bring action against those who commit such crimes.”