A BUILDING firm has gone bust, blaming unpaid money owed by Richard Carr's collapsed property empire.

TW Building Southern Ltd was put into administration on Monday with debts estimated at around £500,000.

Former owner Paul Rumble, 43, told the Echo: "There are probably four to five of our former sub-contractors that are going to get a serious hit from this."

TW did most of its work for Sandbanks-based entrepreneur Richard Carr, whose firm Ravine Lifestyle went into administration last month.

Mr Rumble said: "Without the money coming in there's nothing we can do about it. We feel absolutely terrible for everyone.

"We have been breaking the news to different people but what do you tell people? What do you say?

"The blame, I suppose, has got to lay with me for taking on as much as I did with Richard Carr, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

"The downturn in the housing market hasn't helped anybody."

Administrator Mark Liddle from Tenon Recovery said there was no prospect of selling TW and "very little" in the way of assets.

Mr Carr's firm went into administration owning eight sites in Canford Cliffs and Poole worth £35 million.

TW was building apartments and the sites were between 40 and 98 per cent complete, said Mr Rumble.

He added: "The banks decided not to continue with the sites. There's nothing we can do."

Mr Carr said: "I have to say I am rather surprised the banks, despite giving assurances to me and to Paul that they would finish the sites, have decided to go down a different route."

Ravine's administrator, Deloitte, said: "Our intention is to offer the apartments for sale when completed in an orderly way. We are unable to comment further."

The partially completed properties are in Haven Road, Compton Avenue, Blake Hill Crescent, Ardmore Road and Lilliput Road.

Mr Rumble, from Southbourne, built up his firm to an office staff of six, and around 20 workers.

It employed up to another 100 sub-contractors at any one time, and had a £2.5m-£3m turnover.

Its work on Mr Carr's properties included the night-clubs Crank and Toko, and the nude dancing club Wiggle.

Mr Rumble said: "I still have to pay my mortgage and the only thing I know is the building trade.

"What else can you do if that's all you have done all your life?"