Shelley Sawkins, 75, dialled the builder’s number and heard a foreign dial tone. Christian Williams was in Lanzarote – spending money she had just handed him for their new extension.
“We paid the first instalment. The work started, and then just stopped,” she said. “Then we saw he was in Lanzarote on holiday with our money.”
“Shelley and Barry Sawkins lost over £30,000 to a rogue builder who left their extension unfinished and spent their money in Lanzarote.”
Williams, 54, trading as Chris Williams Construction, is now serving a two-year prison sentence after admitting theft and three counts of fraud by false representation involving four families. At a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing earlier this month, Mold Crown Court heard he benefitted to £163,051.70 from his offending – but his assets meant he could only pay back £1.
The Sawkins were among the victims. They had hired Williams to build a spacious kitchen extension at their bungalow in Buckley, Flintshire, in 2023, hoping it would make life easier for Shelley, who cares for her husband Barry, 63, who has Alzheimer’s disease.
Instead, the work was abandoned, leaving the couple heartbroken. The first sign something was wrong came when one of the walls began to wobble when pushed. Then, one night after the roof had been worked on, rainwater started pouring into the house. “I was up in the middle of the night collecting water in buckets while trying to look after my husband,” Shelley said. “I was in tears. I was constantly in tears. It was a nightmare.”
Williams rarely visited the site, instead sending workers Shelley described as “elderly and apparently unqualified to carry out much of the work”. Despite the poor quality and lack of progress, he kept pressing for further payments. The couple later discovered the suppliers of the extension’s bespoke bifold doors had never been paid, forcing them to pay for the doors a second time.
In total, the Sawkins spent £50,000 fixing the botched job – about £30,000 that went to Williams and £20,000 to other builders repairing the mess. The initial quote had been £21,000. Yet major problems remain, including uneven flooring, and the couple now want to move into sheltered accommodation.
While the Sawkins were struggling, Williams was posting photos on Facebook of holidays and days out at the races. Another victim, a father of three, had to finish his two-storey extension himself.
The project that was supposed to bring “every penny” the Sawkins had has instead ruined their happy lifestyle, Shelley said. “He would disappear for weeks and then come back with excuse after excuse.”