A Suffolk homeowner has described the stress caused by a company director who allegedly provided false building work completion certificates.

Further evidence was heard at Colchester Magistrates Court on Tuesday in the trial of Wayne Murfet, of Lord Homes Ltd and Murfet’s ( Burroughs Green) Ltd.

It is alleged that Murfet and Murfet (Burrough Green) Ltd failed to disclose to the purchaser of a plot at Brinkley Road, Burroughs Green, Newmarket that building works at the property had not been certified as complete by the building control department of East Cambridgeshire District Council.

On Tuesday, evidence was read by the prosecution from Judy Bird, who bought a four bedroom house on Brinkley Road with her partner.

She said they saw the house at the start of June 2019 and it was mostly finished. 

Ms Bird said: “My solicitor sent an email on August 1 saying he had received the building control completion certificate and the insurance warranty certificate.”

A building control certificate with the completion date of July 27 2019 was shown to the court.

 Andrew Copeland, prosecuting, said July 27 was a Saturday and "not a working day according to previous evidence and it is deemed to be a forgery".

The court heard Ms Bird and her partner moved in on August 16.

She said: “When we moved in there were unfinished matters. 

“There was a significant drainage issue which emerged once we moved in and is still ongoing at the time of writing this, April 2020.

“One of the downpipes was not connected to anything when it should have been connected to a soakaway, it took a great deal of effort to get the developer Wayne Murfet to resolve it.”

She said Murfet rarely responded to emails about fixing the problems. 

Then Ms Bird added: “On November 14, 2019 my partner received an email from Wayne which contained the instillation certificates and also a completion certificate apparently issued by East Cambridgeshire District Council dated August 15 2019."

Ms Bird wondered why there were two completion certificates and after questioning East Cambridgeshire Building Control she found this second certificate was the correct one. 

She said: “If we had known the house was not signed off by building control we would have had concerns and would not have proceeded to purchase at that point.

"It has made me question, what else don’t we know about the house?"

“My partner works away a lot and the continuous issues with the house add stress to our lives.”

Murfet, 39, of Freckenham Road, Ely, also denies making or supplying articles for use in fraud on or before October 11, 2018.

These include 36 false certificates of completion of building works, intending they would be used in the conveyancing of 36 flats at 146-148 High Street, Newmarket.

The trial continues.