A CHORLEY couple are still seeking compensation from a leading housebuilder two years after buying a home with rooms too small.

Gordon and Carol Bulloch paid £160,000 for their four bedroom house on Wimpey's Beechwood Grange estate in Chorley.

Last week in South Ribble Magistrates' Court, Wimpey were found guilty of two charges of making false statements about dimensions of bedrooms in properties on the exclusive estate in November 2001.

They were fined £3,000 on each charge and ordered to pay £3,823 costs. Wimpey were acquitted of two other similar charges.

Lancashire Trading Standards brought the prosecution against George Wimpey Manchester Ltd after initially being alerted by Mr and Mrs Bulloch, who live in a Bramfield-style house on Rufford Close.

The charges related to Theydon-style homes.

Dr Bulloch said: "We bought the house from the literature that Wimpey provided at that stage. It was only at foundation level."

But when his wife later viewed a completed house she noticed two of the bedrooms "looked short".

"We went back in after with a tape measure and sure enough they had lost about a foot of the width of two bedrooms," added Dr Bulloch, 53, an environmental consultant with BAE Systems.

"In the smallest bedroom I lay down across the width. I'm six feet, it should have been seven feet wide."

Dr Bulloch and his wife Carol, 47, a civil servant in Blackpool, planned to put in fitted wardrobes, but had to change the design due to the shortfall.

The couple brought the matter to the attention of the sales department on site and continued to go ahead with the purchase after Wimpey later gave them the chance to cancel. They had paid a £75 reservation fee.

"Because we noticed the mistake before we exchanged contracts Wimpey are saying because they offered us our money back they are not offering us any compensation.

"We are trying to just be civil and speak to them. They don't want to speak to anybody. They have got our money and don't want to speak to us at all.

"We are very pleased the misrepresentation has been proved guilty. That's on Wimpey's record."

No-one from Wimpey was available for comment as we went to press.