When builder Nigel Gray was left £15,000 out of pocket by a customer who failed to pay for a conservatory and porch he didn't mess around.

Frustrated by a string of excuses and missed deadlines Mr Gray sent a couple of workers around to his customer's home to rectify the problem.

First they used a sledgehammer to demolish the porch, complete with its red-tiled roof.

Then - as the drama was captured by photographers - they removed the large back garden conservatory, window pane by window pane, brick by brick.

All the while, Anita Dovey remained inside the council property. Not even the sound of the slanted porch roof crashing to the ground in a fog of dust brought any protest.

The saga began after Mrs Dovey, of Elizabeth Road, Shoreham, was given permission for the improvements shortly before Christmas.

She then asked Nigel Gray Trade Centres to carry out the work, and was quoted around £15,000. But after completing the work Mr Gray started to run into problems with the payment.

Mr Gray said: "She had already had some work done by another company and said she was expecting money back from them. She showed me a letter from them and I received a phone call from a man saying he was from the building company and the money was being given back.

"She was a nice woman when I met her and I thought she was going to be like any other customer."

Mr Gray said Mrs Dovey, who has been a council tenant since 1993, gave him a cheque for £9,600 for the conservatory but it bounced.

He said: "I went to the Citizen's Advice Bureau and met her there. She came out crying and I felt really sorry for her and thought I would do what I could to help her."

She told Mr Gray she would cash in some bonds and pay him what she owed but he did not receive any money. He said he received another cheque for £5,000 on April 4 which he said also bounced.

He said: "I have been everywhere and there is no one out there to help me. This is costing me about £1,500 to take this all down. The whole thing has come to £21,000 to £22,000.

"I am losing money while the lads are here and not working on another job."

Mr Gray said he went to Adur District Council with an invoice for £14,900 when it became clear Mrs Dovey would not pay and the council said it would assist him with knocking the porch down and taking the conservatory back.

At 9.15am yesterday (MON), Mr Gray and a representative from the council watched as one of Mr Gray's builders took a sledgehammer to the porch, knocking it down in 20 minutes. Another of Mr Gray's staff removed the conservatory from back garden.

Mrs Dovey remained inside the property while the demolition started but left her home at about 10am. When she was asked why she had not paid for the work and whether she had anything to say she told The Argus she had no comment to make.

A council spokeswoman said: "Council tenants are allowed to make improvements to their home.

"Unfortunately in this case, this private agreement has gone wrong. Mrs Dovey will be billed the cost of putting the property back to its original state."

Mr Gray said: "The only reason I am smashing it down is because there is no way I am going to be mugged off.

"I have got two businesses and I may have to close my limited company down because of the money I have lost. I have got bills to pay and a family to feed.

"The workmanship is quality and it breaks my heart to see it being smashed down. It upsets me and it is not good for business."