Cowboy builders who prey on the vulnerable have so angered a retired construction company boss that he has called for a helpline to stop the rip-offs.

Jack Hughes, former managing director of Tadcaster Builders Hughes Limited, is so concerned that he has offered to set up the service himself.

Mr Hughes, from Copmanthorpe, said free help and advice from experts could stop the con men in their tracks.

He was today meeting with trading standards officers in York to discuss his idea.

His call follows numerous reports of householders being dogged by unscrupulous workmen, including complaints from residents who came home to find their gutters replaced without their permission.

A 77-year-old woman told the Evening Press that builders came to her home and carried out £775 worth of work without telling her or leaving her any information. They had contacted her before but didn't get the go-ahead to carry out the work.

Others leave after doing shoddy, and sometimes dangerous, repairs and installations.

see COMMENT 'Curb the cowboys'

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