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EXCLUSIVE: Family's Cotswolds £600,000 dream home left in tatters after £110,000 extension is abandoned and the house wrecked by the builder - after he vanished when he went bust

Daily Mail Online 2024/7/7

A family has been left devastated after their £600,000 dream home in the Cotswolds was wrecked by a builder who vanished after his company went bust.

Elisa Sonaglioni, her partner Tom Walsh and their two-year-old son, Matteo, have been physically split apart by the ordeal which left their home uninhabitable.

The builder they had hired, who hasn’t been named for legal reasons, failed to finish the work he had started before his company went into liquidation.

Now the family are having to pick up the pieces after a £110,000 extension onto the back of their detached house in Upper Rissington, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, was abandoned and left with all kinds of problems.

Elisa Sonaglioni, her partner Tom Walsh and their two-year-old son, Matteo are have been left to pick up the pieces after the house was abandoned in a dangerous condition by a builder who vanished
Elisa Sonaglioni, her partner Tom Walsh and their two-year-old son, Matteo are have been left to pick up the pieces after the house was abandoned in a dangerous condition by a builder who vanished
The state of the 'dream' Cotswolds home that the couple had bought in 2022
The state of the 'dream' Cotswolds home that the couple had bought in 2022
Pictures of how the property has been left shows ceilings with exposed wires and faulty support poles
Pictures of how the property has been left shows ceilings with exposed wires and faulty support poles

It has also caused severe safety issues with the whole of the house, meaning Elisa and Matteo have gone to live with her family in London.

Tom has stayed at the house for much of the time to keep an eye on it, relying on kind neighbours to feed him because the kitchen has been out of bounds.

The couple ploughed their life savings into the project, handing over £60,000 to the builder and spending £110,000 on it in total. 

They say the work should have been finished earlier this year but the builder stopped taking their calls and they have been unable to trace him after discovering his company went into liquidation.

Elisa was so shocked and worried about the state the house had been left in that she says she nearly ended up in hospital because of panic attacks.

Photographs show undone floorboards, with pipes and large nails exposed, posing a safety risk
Photographs show undone floorboards, with pipes and large nails exposed, posing a safety risk
Elisa standing beside an unfinished wall in the extension area, where brick remains unpainted
Elisa standing beside an unfinished wall in the extension area, where brick remains unpainted
Elisa and Tom's extension which is yet to be completed. It was scheduled to be done early this year but was left abandoned after the builder they hired stopped answering calls after going bust
Elisa and Tom's extension which is yet to be completed. It was scheduled to be done early this year but was left abandoned after the builder they hired stopped answering calls after going bust

Elisa said: ‘It’s been a nightmare. The house is dropping in the middle and there are some severe cracks upstairs. It breaks my heart.’

The couple said they love the Cotswolds and viewed the house as their dream home when they moved into it in September 2022.

Work began in the autumn of last year on the extension, because they planned to have another child and wanted more space.

As well as large cracks in two upstairs bedrooms, there is a big hole in Matteo’s bedroom, a main steel support for the house is bowing and, the couple say, steel supports for the extension are faulty.

They say this is causing the whole house to crack and dip and they need between £45,000 and £50,000 to make it habitable again.

But villagers have rallied round Elisa and Tom. 

An online funding campaign has raised £3,000 and a nearby building firm has said it will fix the house’s problems.

Elisa said Ben Pentland and James Chandler, of Witney-based Pentland & Chandler Construction, said they would provide their labour for free, providing the couple get the materials needed.

Elisa and Matteo have gone to live with her family in London after the house was left uninhabitable
Elisa and Matteo have gone to live with her family in London after the house was left uninhabitable
Tom has stayed at the house for much of the time to keep an eye on it, relying on kind neighbours to feed him because the kitchen has been out of bounds
Tom has stayed at the house for much of the time to keep an eye on it, relying on kind neighbours to feed him because the kitchen has been out of bounds
Their local community have supported the couple through the ordeal, raising £3,000 for them through an online fundraising campaign
Their local community have supported the couple through the ordeal, raising £3,000 for them through an online fundraising campaign

She added: ‘They’re going to do the work at weekends. They’re going to put a call out for help, like in the BBC’s DIY SOS TV programme.’

The 33-year-old and her 38-year-old partner said they are hugely grateful to everyone who has offered them support.

She said: ‘When we realised he (the builder) had disappeared, I nearly ended up in hospital due to the panic attacks I was having. But the community has been amazing, rallying round.

‘Our neighbours have fed Tom every night he’s been here. We will always be grateful to the community. It’s such a lovely place to live.

‘I will never be able to say thank you enough. We’ve seen the absolute worst in someone but kindness has been shown by so many others.’

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