A SENIOR Dudley councillor has welcomed a court ruling to make a rogue builder “repay every penny” to customers who were left £31,000 out of pocket as a result of shoddy workmanship.

Paul Tompkinson, of Corbett Road, Brierley Hill, was ordered to pay £31,000 in compensation and left with a £7,900 bill for costs after Dudley Council’s trading standards took him to court.

He was sentenced at Wolverhampton Magistrates’ Court on February 23 after admitting knowingly or recklessly engaging in a practice that breached unfair trading regulations after botching a job on a Kingswinford property.

Dudley Council said Tompkinson had approached the homeowners after viewing an approved online planning application for a home extension.

He claimed he had more than 40 years of experience, was winner of the Baggeridge Brickwork Prize and was City and Guilds qualified.

But Tompkinson failed to follow plans and comply with British Standards.

He also failed to inform the council’s building control when stages of the project had been completed.

Once finished, numerous faults were found so the case was referred to trading standards and an independent chartered surveyor deemed the work below standard and said it did not comply with the plans and would cost more than £27,000 to rectify.

Tompkinson was paid £32,000 for the job and the homeowners have since had to pay £31,000 for the work to be rectified.

Councillor Nicolas Barlow, Dudley Council’s cabinet member responsible for trading standards, said Tompkinson “used false information to dupe the homeowners” he added: “He was clearly not up to the job.

“I welcome the court’s decision in ordering him to repay every penny to the complainants but that doesn’t take away the distress he will have caused due to his incompetence.

“We will not hesitate to pursue rogue traders through the court system.”