EditorSerial rogue builder jailed again after £400k fraud left homes ‘virtually destroyed’
Lee Slocombe, 33, formerly of Delhi Street, Swansea, carried out dangerous and often pointless building work at properties in Cardiff, Bridgend and Swansea, defrauding nine victims of more than £400,000. When the cost of repairing the damage he caused was added, the total loss to homeowners was calculated at at least £547,000.
Cardiff Crown Court heard Slocombe was already on Crown Court bail when he committed the latest offences between March 2021 and May 2023. He pleaded guilty to two counts of participating in a fraudulent business — one personally, and one through his company, LSP Developments.
‘Appalling standard’ work left homes unsafe
Judge Felstead described Slocombe as a “persistent rogue builder” whose work was so poor that some homes were “virtually destroyed”. He repeatedly convinced customers that work was needed when it wasn’t, escalated costs without justification, and abandoned jobs halfway through — leaving families with huge repair bills.
In two cases, he even brought in a fake, unqualified gas engineer. One property was left leaking carbon monoxide where a 10‑month‑old baby lived.
Some victims were forced to take out loans, overdrafts or raid their pension pots to put their homes right. Several were elderly or vulnerable.
Slocombe used the false name “Lee Lewis” to hide his long history of dishonesty.
Dangerous and incomplete building work left at a victim’s home by rogue builder Lee Slocombe, as documented by Cardiff Council investigators. Images: Cardiff CouncilHe was also handed a lifetime Criminal Behaviour Order banning him from carrying out any building, maintenance or gardening work in the UK, and disqualified from being a company director until 2031.
Cllr Norma Mackie, Cardiff Council’s Cabinet Member for Shared Regulatory Services, said:
“Lee Slocombe caused immense misery to his victims… The stress he caused is unimaginable, and he deserves to be sent directly back to prison.”
Not the first time: Swansea victims suffered too
This is far from Slocombe’s first appearance in the dock.
In 2023, he was jailed for five years and five months after defrauding seven Swansea families of more than £147,000 through his previous company, Kamlee Builders. Swansea Crown Court heard he destroyed homes, drained life savings and left properties in such a state that some were “a complete mess”.
One Swansea family paid more than £78,000 for work and repairs after going into “financial meltdown”. Another couple were charged £18,000 for a job a surveyor said should have cost less than £600 and taken an hour.
Swansea Council’s Trading Standards team began investigating him in 2018 after a complaint about damp work in Morriston that ballooned from a £1,000 quote to a £60,000 bill.
Cllr David Hopkins, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, said at the time:
“The details of this case show an extremely disturbing level of dishonesty and appalling treatment towards families in Swansea.”
A decade of fraud — and now a lifetime ban
Slocombe’s criminal record stretches back to 2015, when he was jailed for 43 months for similar offences. Despite two prison sentences, he continued targeting homeowners across South Wales.
Regulators hope the lifetime ban will finally stop him.
Cardiff Council said the latest sentence should give victims “some closure”, while Swansea Council previously praised its Trading Standards team for ensuring “no other families will suffer at the hands of this rogue builder”.
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