Rogue builders left their customers’ houses in a state of disrepair with shoddy and uncompleted work and left them out of pocket by almost £150,000. The brothers left an intensive care nurse’s house looking like a building site and open to the elements.
Nicky, 31, and Kyle Middleton, 29, were the directors of N&K Kitchens Ltd which was set up in 2018 for them to trade as the builders and adaptors of kitchens. The company was characterised by “underquoting, failing to meet targets and promises, shoddy workmanship, and taking money for work which was not fully completed or not completed at all”.
A sentencing hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Friday heard the Middleton brothers attempted to hide behind the “corporate veil” and attempted to dissolve the company when an investigation was launched by Rhondda Cynon Taf council. But this was prevented by the council, and both defendants were held liable for the actions of the company. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter here.
One independent assessor said the rear of the property is on the brink of collapse
(Image: John Myers)
Intensive care nurse Catherine Lewis, of Mountain View, Tonyrefail, employed the company in July 2020 to knock down an extension at her home in order to extend her kitchen and turn her downstairs area into one big open plan living/dining space.
She paid around £55,000 towards the job and the conservatory was ripped out but the speed of the job slowed down to the point that Ms Lewis offered to project manage the job herself. A large crack developed in the back wall of the property, which was later deemed structurally unsafe.
Ms Lewis was signed off work with stress in December 2022, and there were further issues with the property after structural damage had been caused to the rear bedroom and a waste pipe connection was leaking, which caused further damage. Ms Lewis contacted the kitchen suppliers but was told N&K Kitchens had not ordered her kitchen and no payment had been received.
Catharine’s home has been left open and exposed to the elements
(Image: John Myers)
In a victim personal statement read to the court by prosecutor Alex Greenwood, Ms Lewis said the toll had had a significant impact on her and her teenage daughters. She added: “I can’t put into words how stressful this has been and how distressed I feel. it’s had a detrimental effect on mine and my family’s lives. I worked hard all my life to put my daughters first…. I gave myself permission to fulfil my dream, and having my family in a large open space was extremely important to me and this was my objective.
“Instead we were left with no warm water, a cold house and no kitchen, no dining room and a house open to the elements for a year. I was worrying it was going to fall down and I was unable to warm the house above 11 degrees. It was over a year before I was able to make the house watertight and warm again.”
Ms Lewis said she had been left in a “desperate situation” and was “shameful and embarrassed”. She added: “I was only left with a living room which had to become my kitchen, dining room and my bedroom. I thought it would be completed by my eldest daughter’s 18th birthday and before my youngest started her GCSEs. Because of Nicky and Kyle I had to miss out on making cakes for my eldest’s 18th and 19th birthdays and for my youngest’s 15th and 16th birthdays. It’s been completely heartbreaking for me and I’ve felt guilty as a mother as I had not been able to do this and put them through this through something that was my choice. This was because of Nicky and Kyle, that I was left in a house of disarray and no finances. They have left in tens of hundreds and thousands of pounds in additional debt. I consider myself a strong woman but this nearly broke me. I will have to carry on paying this debt. I don’t know how long or if I will ever recover from this.”
There’s structural cracking everywhere, gaping holes in the brickwork and the floors have dropped
(Image: Catherine Lewis)
There were further victims of the Middletons who were based in Penygraig, Porth, Treorchy and Gilfach Goch, who paid out thousands of pounds but work was either completed at a poor standard or left unfinished. Orders for kitchens had not been made or paid for. One customer saw the company had been featured on BBC television programme X-Ray, but they were given an assurance by the brothers that the work would be completed, but this did not come to fruition. Mr Greenwood said the total loss across all of the victims amounted to £124,300.
Nicky Middleton, of Highfields, Tonyrefail, and Kyle Middleton, of Hughes Street, Penygraig, were subject to an investigation by Rhondda Cynon Taf council and were invited for an interview under caution. They sought to distance themselves from the offending but both later pleaded guilty to participating in a fraudulent business. The court heard Nicky Middleton was of previous good character and Kyle Middleton had one irrelevant conviction.
In mitigation, David Singh said Kyle Middleton accepted the business became “too big too soon”, but said the business was not set up for a fraudulent purpose. It was said the defendant had caring responsibilities and was in employment.
Hannah George, for Nicky Middleton, said his client has no interest in entering into business in future and described the defendant finding it difficult to balance multiple jobs and carry out administrative tasks.
Sentencing, Judge Jeremy Jenkins said: “The standard of the work by each of you in this case was disgraceful and left your customers in distress and anguish over what you had done to their homes. One can only imagine the strain and stress placed on them and their families having to live in and through the nightmare of the negligence created by you. You lied when they made genuine enquiries and sought to avoid liability. You left your customers’ homes in dangerous conditions, you are unfit to be called builders. You have ruined the dreams and aspirations of many hard working and law abiding people.”
Nicky and Kyle Middleton were each sentenced to 32 months imprisonment. They were both barred from acting as a director of a company for 10 years.
This interactive tool allows you to check the latest crime statistics for your area: