A BUILDER who overcharged five clients more than £100,000 and left them paying for remedial work totalling £140,000 has been jailed.

Mark Harmer, who traded as MH Construction, was a “shoddy builder of quite marked incompetence” who failed to get his finances in order, according to Oxfordshire Trading Standards.

The 44-year-old, who has since been declared bankrupt, was jailed at Oxford Crown Court yesterday having admitted five counts of engaging in an unfair commercial practice.

Harmer was awarded a £260,000 contract by Ian and Karen Morrison to demolish a bungalow and erect a new property in Wallingford.

The couple paid him £242,902 for unfinished work and had to pay an extra £46,329 for another builder to complete the project.

In East Hanney, Harmer left Adam and Miriam Brundrett needed to spend £21,429 to correct and finish work.

The couple had paid Harmer £43,076 for work worth just £22,112, prosecutor Ian Lawrie said. In Great Milton, 66-year-old Irene Burtenshaw had to pay £32,103 on remedial work having already overpaid for Harmer’s services to the tune of £49,652, Mr Lawrie said.

The two other complaints were from Henley and Wokingham in Berkshire.

Judith McCullough, defending, said her client, of Sands Way, Benson, was failing to juggle finances while suffering from depression.

Judge Patrick Eccles jailed him for six months. Mr Lawrie said outside court: “This is a deterrent sentence for a shoddy builder of incompetence.”