Swansea Cowboy Builder Tore My Home Apart and Fleed with £14k - BBC News
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Cowboy builder tore my home apart and disappeared off the face of the Earth with £14k
By Danielle Herbert, BBC Wales
Published 8 September 2026 | Updated 6 hours ago
A rogue builder tore Sheri Ingram's home apart and "disappeared off the face of the Earth" with £14,000. In February, Lee Slocombe, from Swansea, was jailed for six years after defrauding nine victims of £400,000—with this his latest conviction in a decade of offending.
The UK government announced in August plans to give people greater protections against "cowboy builders" through a database of trusted traders. Ingram, from Cardiff, welcomed it but questioned where the incentive would be for tradespeople to sign up to the voluntary scheme. Another couple who were left £30,000 out of pocket by a rogue trader said it would give more confidence to homeowners.
Slocombe's offending covered an 11-year period, targeting nine people while on bail using a false name. It began in 2015 when Ingram and her ex-partner bought a house in Aberbeeg, Blaenau Gwent, planning to renovate it and move in. They appointed Slocombe to build an extension and make the ground floor open plan.
Ingram admits they were not experts in building work. While Slocombe seemed responsive initially, he "disappeared off the face of the earth" after six weeks with £14,000. Her ex-partner eventually got hold of him, but Slocombe insinuated all the money was gone and blamed a pending payout for an injury on another job.
The home was later restored by Channel 5's Cowboy Builders, aimed at helping families exploited by them. In February, Slocombe was jailed for six years for dangerous building work in Cardiff, Bridgend, and Swansea. He had pleaded guilty to participating in a fraudulent business between March 2021 and May 2023.