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A family of five from Hull has been left homeless after claiming to be stung by a cowboy builder.

The Allen family from west Hull was hit by flooding six months ago and after moving into rented accomodation, paid £26,000 upfront to a builder who failed to carry out the work.

They have since been told that the property could be condemned.

Tracey Allen, 39, said: "We had to move out in February although we discovered the secondary flooding just before Christmas.

Cowboy Builders, FIVE's TV show about exposing the nation's rogue builders, is back for it's second series. Fronted by Dominic Littlewood and Melinda Messenger, the show is now looking for people who have had been ripped off by builders.

If you know of anyone worth investigating, please contact the team on 01273 224829 or email consumeraffairs@ricochet.co.uk

 

There's been a month-on-month rise in house prices in England and Wales for the first time since January 2008.

The survey by the Land Registery found that there was a 0.1% rise in June compared with May, bringing the average price of a house to £153,046.

The figures are thought to represent a "flattening" of prices, although the value of the average home was down 14% on the same month a year earlier

Click here to read more about house prices.

According to new website The Quiet Riot, around 86% of the UK's 26 million houses will still be in use by 2050. 80% of these 26 million houses were built before 1980 meaning that by 2050, almost 70% of all our houses will be 70 years old or more.

Do you drool over the pages of glossy interior magazines and wish that your home had a unique, individual style?

Despite the recent doom and gloom about falling house prices, it appears that Brits still love investing their houses and are starting to get the property bug again.

According to new research from Mintel, one in three adults believe that now is a good time to buy property with just 15% of the Brits surveyed admiting that the downturn had put them off investing in bricks and mortar.

A 30 second commercial during tonight's The Home Show on Channel 4, will see duo Wallace and Gromit promote energy-efficient home improvements.

It will be the second nPower advert to feature the plasticine pretenders with the company's marketing director Keith Peake saying "We're hoping [Wallace & Gromit's] positive approach to energy efficiency will help people see how simple it is to make small changes and a big a difference to their energy bills."

The BBC has reported that a plumber from Somerset been awarded £175,000 in compensation after contracting asbestos-related cancer.

A buider from Taiwan has had a miraculous escape after shooting a nail through his own heart.

Ling Sen, 38, accidently fired a 6cm nail from a nail gun towards his chest whilst labouring. The builder carried on working before he even realised that the nail was embedded in his body.