St Albans Crown Court heard that Daniel Neagu, 31, of Harrow caused £4m of damage on the McCarthy and Stone scheme in Hertfordshire.

Neagu wrecked five new homes on August 11, 2018 following a row over wages.

The former plant operator had been working at the construction site before he was dismissed alongside several colleagues a few weeks prior to the incident.

Neagu, who had experience operating the digger, told officers that the reason he had chosen to destroy the properties was due to a dispute with his former employer over unpaid wages.

Detective Constable Shaun Turner, from the East Herts Local Crime Unit, said: “Three three-bedroom properties and two two-bedroom properties were affected by Neagu’s deliberate act of destruction, with the total cost of the damage estimated to be in the region of £4million.

“The incident had a lasting impact on the local community as a number of the properties were nearing completion and their new owners were weeks away from moving in.

“However after assessment, the structural damage was deemed to be too severe so the affected properties had to be demolished and rebuilt, which took months.”

Neagu pleaded guilty to one count of criminal damage and was sentenced to four years imprisonment.