Cowboy builder Jordan Hare 'ruined my life', Crosskeys victim says

But six months and £31,000 later, those dreams were in tatters – as were many of the refurbishments.

Mr Miles was conned out of his life savings by rogue trader Jordan Hare, who wrecked the Crosskeys home with his shoddy, dangerous work.

“I’m just so heartbroken about it,” Mr Miles said. “Everything he touched fell apart.”

Mr Miles, 61, said much of the work had been done while he was making daily visits to the hospital, where his son was receiving cancer treatment.

Anthony Miles in his kitchen with his medication. Picture: www.christinsleyphotography.co.uk

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Mr Miles has himself become seriously ill, developing Parkinson’s in the months since Hare - who was jailed for three years and nine months earlier this week after admitting fraud - began working on the property.

“It’s ruined my life completely,” Mr Miles said. “He’s turned an engineer of 40 years into a crumbling wreck.”

Jordan Hare. Picture: Facebook

While Hare’s sentence has made Mr Miles feel “a little bit better”, the fraudster’s handiwork – and its long-term consequences – remain.

Mr Miles has been left thousands of pounds out of pocket after making weekly cash payments to Hare. And he has been told fixing the builder’s slipshod and unsafe work will cost upwards of £20,000.

In the months after Hare began working on the house, Mr Miles’ health deteriorated significantly, and he was eventually diagnosed with Parkinson’s. He spent five weeks in hospital after losing his mobility and falling several times and has to take more than 20 tablets every day. He has been left largely housebound, faced every day with the substandard, half-finished renovations Hare left behind.

Some of the shoddy work done by Jordan Hare at the home of Anthony Miles. Pictures: www.christinsleyphotography.co.uk

“The kitchen is falling apart,” Mr Miles said, pointing out an uneven floor, hastily-plastered holes in walls, and wonky skirting boards and cupboards.

“There was a breakfast bar, but I leaned on it once and it fell apart.”

Hare charged £6,000 for damp-proofing work, Mr Miles said, but there was little evidence this work had been done to any sufficient standard.

The paint work, he added, was “done like a four-year-old with a paintbrush would do it”.

In the bathroom, Mr Miles said live wires for the shower unit had been covered over with plasterboard, expensive tiles had been damaged, and the toilet had sprung a leak.

Some of the shoddy work done by Jordan Hare at the home of Anthony Miles. Picture: www.christinsleyphotography.co.uk

Mr Miles had employed Hare after reading favourable reviews for his Platinum Installs firm – but these turned out to be fake.

Hare had told Mr Miles the work would take around two weeks to complete, but the ordeal ended up lasting six months. This delay meant Mr Miles’ son could not come home from hospital right away because the house was full of building dust. Instead, Mr Miles had to shell out for a hotel.

Some of the shoddy work done by Jordan Hare at the home of Anthony Miles. Pictures: www.christinsleyphotography.co.uk

Now in remission, Mr Miles’ son Tom, 20, said Hare “promised the world and ruined it”.

“He said we’d have a show-home quality kitchen,” he said.

“He manipulated us and made us feel like he was our friend. He just took cash. He took my dad to the bank to get cash out, and he didn’t give us receipts [for the work] – and all this while I was in hospital.

Some of the shoddy work done by Jordan Hare at the home of Anthony Miles. Pictures: www.christinsleyphotography.co.uk

“The worst thing isn’t how the house has been left – it’s what all this has done to dad.”

A fundraiser has been set up to help Mr Miles regain some of the money he has lost - to contribute click here.