Mrs Booth – married to actor Tony Booth and the stepmum of Cherie Blair – got Shaun Rudman, 25, to build her a small extension to use as a utility room.

He quoted £2,500 and said the job should take two weeks – but it took nearly three times longer due to wet weather and because an electrician failed to turn up.

Mrs Booth, who had paid £1,500 up front, said Mr Rudman did not put in enough hours and questioned the quality of his work. She said Mr Rudman and his joiner father were sacked when they were found hanging a door the wrong way round.

She also accused Mr Rudman of theft, saying he had taken surplus stone flags and a section of iron railing.

"It's all about trust and in the end we felt we couldn't trust this man," she said.

Mr Rudman said he was asked to get rid of the flags and railings.

He said the allegations led him to charge an extra £850 for jobs he had planned to do for free as a goodwill gesture for the delay.

"I'd been accused of theft and was met with a barrage of abuse about my workmanship. My good nature went out of the window," he said.

The total bill was £3,319.75 but the Booths refused to pay.

Mr Rudman claimed for the outstanding amount of £1,819.75.

Mrs Booth put in a counter claim for £1,000 for "mess, stress and inconvenience", which she claimed had left 78-year-old Tony having to take sleeping pills.

It was rejected by the district judge who said Mr Rudman had not been contracted to a timeframe and ordered she pay for the labour.

But he said Mr Rudman could not charge for the extra work or any interest on the debts and ordered him to return the railings and refund the value of the stone he had taken.