A local handyman pleaded guilty on Monday (February 11) at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court to carrying out shoddy fence work repairs to a property in Haverfordwest following a prosecution taken by Pembrokeshire County Council’s trading standards team.

Denzil Michael Thomas, trading as Mick Local Handyman of Haverfordwest, agreed with the homeowner to replace four fence panels and two concrete fixing posts in June 2018.

The standard of work was so poor that the wooden fence panels and attached fixing post began to lean within days of being erected and fell down three months later.

Thomas initially quoted £350 for the work but later said the total cost would be £790.

He requested an immediate deposit of £290.

Work started to remove one of the concrete posts but Thomas soon stopped, telling the homeowner he would replace it with a wooden post.

Following telephone calls from the homeowner, Thomas returned and completed the work on July 19th. He reduced the bill by £50 for replacing only one of the posts and agreed to return and cut a hedge for £140.

The homeowner paid a further £590, representing the final balance for the fence work and advance payment for the hedge cutting.

Two days later the new wooden post and panels started to lean towards the property.

The homeowner placed a wooden brace against the post to support it and phoned Thomas.

Despite numerous calls, Thomas failed to return to fix the post or cut the hedge.

During stormy weather in October 2018, the post and two adjacent panels fell down.

The court heard the work was inspected by a qualified carpenter from the Pembrokeshire County Council who reported the wooden post was buried to a depth of approximately 5 inches when it should have been 600mms (two feet).

Furthermore, the material used to fix it in the ground was ‘crumbly and inadequate’.

Mr Thomas was fined £200 for failing to give a cancellation notice in accordance with the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 for the fence work agreement and £200 under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 for trading without professional diligence.

No separate penalty was imposed for a further conviction of failing to give a cancellation notice for the agreement to cut the hedge and for engaging in a misleading action as to the fitness of his work.

At the request of the local Authority, Mr Thomas was ordered by the Court to pay compensation of £880 to the homeowner within 28 days.

He was also ordered to pay a £30 victim surcharge and £1,000 costs to the Authority making the total to pay £2,310.

To report an incident and for consumer advice contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0345 4 04 05 06/ 03454 04 05 05 (welsh speaker).