Amanda Cardy, 49, and husband Antony, 59, were financially comfortable when they decided to get an extension for their youngest son's bedroom.

However, they claim they are now £10,000 down after the build wasn't completed properly.

Wiring and piping also went missing from the empty property in Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire, the family said.

Amanda says the horrific ordeal has left the family unable to afford groceries after they had to pay to have the problems fixed.

The mother-of-three said: 'We've gone from being normal comfortable family and now next week I have to go and get food from a food bank.

“My children's mental health is ruined, my husband's company has suffered, and I got really ill and depressed.

“It's mental torture. I feel like I can't take it anymore - I've never been in the situation where I can't afford to put food on the table.”

The family decided they wanted to add an extension to their home to allow their youngest son to have a bigger bedroom.

They hired a builder in April 2020 who started the works - but then stopped turning up to the site and left the house without doors or windows.

The family had moved into a rental property as they were told the extension would take just 12 weeks.

But they quickly realised they were in for a much longer process.

Hoping for more luck, they hired another builder. But they say they were let down again and say works were never started by the second contractors.

Amanda also alleges that copper wiring and pipes were taken from inside their home.

The couple paid £10k for materials and the work, but say they have been left with no money and say works were never started by the second contractors.

Despite reporting it to the police, they have been unable to take any action as it is believed to be a civil matter.

The family has been left to live in an unfinished home and owe money to tradespeople they hired to fix the problems.

Amanda said: 'We just wanted a two-metre extension at the back as we wanted our youngest to have a slightly bigger bedroom.

“It was during lockdown and we had to move out, so we found a rental and were told it wouldn't be longer than 12 weeks.

“After the first builder left us with no windows and no back doors, we decided we couldn't keep renting the other house and needed something done to make our house airtight.

“I put an ad up in June 2020 and a builder contacted me and wanted to come over straight away.

“I cried to him about what the first builder did and he told me he had a group of guys and could get it finished in five weeks.”