Owners of Yorkshire construction company sentenced to unpaid work and told to pay compensation over 'sub-standard' building projects

Leger Construction director Lloyd Horridge, 56, of Kirk Sandall, and business partner Gary Fitzgerald, 47, of Intake, were both sentenced to do unpaid work at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday.

The pair were prosecuted by Doncaster Council over a number of building projects where work was deemed to be of a poor standard, and faced three counts of knowing or recklessly engaging in commercial practice to distort the customer.

Both defendants were given a 12-month community order with 10 rehabilitation activity day requirements, 150 hours of unpaid work and told to pay £16,820 in compensation to the victims and cover the council’s legal bill of £5,000 within 12 months.

The customers who received the most compensation were the Endicott family, who are entitled to £22,515. The Nortons will receive £5,110 and the Boyles £6,016.

The council became involved following complaints that Horridge and Fitzgerald had either abandoned projects or were asked to leave the site by their customers. An investigation by the Trading Standards team found that their work did not meet the standard of skill or care which a trader may be reasonably expected to exercise.

Doncaster Council’s director of place Dan Swaine said: “This is another great result for our Trading Standards team, and as well as seeing justice done, we are pleased that our efforts have provided more than £33,500 of financial recompense to Leger Construction Services’ victims in this case.

“I hope this case once again underlines that we take such offences seriously, that this sort of behaviour is not tolerated in Doncaster, and we will prosecute wherever appropriate.”

According to the Leger Construction website, the company has undertaken extensions, renovations and maintenance jobs all across Doncaster.