A CARPENTER in Andover has decided to make a family’s Christmas special, after a bad building job led to their conservatory being not fit for purpose.

Justin Randall, 33, went with a friend on Saturday (November 21) to a house in Picket Twenty, to help him with work on the roof.

He quickly realised that the conservatory had been done to a “really bad standard” and said the family living there were “at their wits end”, having spent more than £20,000 on the work.

“I walked through what was wrong with it and it was pretty much everything,” he said.

“They have spent good money to have a job done that’s not been done. They need someone to do it, but they shouldn’t have to pay twice for it.

“I have been doing this 14 years and I have seen a lot of not great jobs but this is one of the worst I’ve ever seen.”

Justin, who lives in Appleshaw, said there were many problems, including broken tiles, second-hand velux windows, incorrect coverings and bricks not laid correctly.

“The customer said it was done over a year ago and it was in a worse state then than it is now. Their aim had been to have it done for last Christmas and have their Christmas tree and everything in there- hopefully we can make it happen for them for this Christmas.”

Justin works for his step-dad’s company, Carmel Construction, and does conservatories for a living. In his professional opinion, not only was the job done badly, but the family was overcharged.

“They have paid over the odds for half a job and it’s such a bad job as well. I really feel for them,” he said.

“I went home on Saturday and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. So I went back later that night and told them I would do it for free.”

“When you see the distress it’s caused, there’s no way you could charge them again.”

Justin said the woman living in the house is an A&E nurse who works night shifts. She lives there with her two children and her husband, who has spent the last year trying to do as much of the work himself.

Justin posted to Facebook, calling on his contacts in the Andover area to see if they could spare some time and resources.

He will do all the soffits and fascias, and has managed to find an electrician who will be giving up a day to check all the electrics, a plasterer, a roofer, and he even has a digger on standby in case it’s needed.

Justin says he doesn’t want the family to have to pay for materials. Where they can, labourers will offer them for free, but he hopes the reaction to his Facebook appeal will mean the community is there to “rally around” to help raise funds if it's needed.

Speaking about helping this family out at their time of need, he said: “It’s better than any amount of money you get, being able to do that for someone.”