Michael Jim McDonald, 24, was last week ordered to pay Carol and Roy Pitchford £500 in “cynical” compensation after he and his family entered their lives and emptied their bank accounts within a month.

McDonald with sister Tilly and father Michael Senior persuaded the defenseless Pitchfords to accommodate more and more work being done at their home in Aston Drive. newportTilly gave Carol ice cream as well as a rose for her birthday, and then took her to the bank to transfer thousands of pounds at once.

McDonald Junior was the only one of the three to stand trial, but the involvement of his sister and father in the fraud was revealed in open court.

After doing shoddy work on the extension, veranda and summer house, they left behind a “total mess” with walls collapsing, roofs leaking and paving slabs “wobbly”.

After all, a reputable builder would probably do the job for under £15,000. Having to pay a further £40,000 to a suitable housebuilder to get everything sorted, the Pitchfords ended up spending £100,000.

Carol, 76, who walks with a Zimmer frame, and Roy, 83, who is hard of hearing, have lived on Aston Drive for more than 40 years.

Carol told the Shropshire Star: “This has been a concern for five years and I have only been able to get back £500 of around £60,000. Of course, if he bothers to pay.

“I want everyone to know this. I wanted to go to court to see what happened, but I can’t walk very well.”

Recalling the pivotal moment when she looked into McDonalds for the first time on January 22, 2018, Carol said: “They came to the door. There were three. Two great men.

“They built the tree and then they started saying the wall out front needed to be built. ‘There’s nothing wrong with that,’ I said. Then they got pretty ugly.”

Unfortunately the Pitchfords ignored this early warning and McDonalds’ high-pressure tactics (including scaring them about defects in their home, insisting the work be done immediately, lying about planning permission and offering dodgy discounts) put them under pressure. allowing the victims to continue.