A MAN reeling from the shock of a £5,000 home furnishings bill is warning would-be buyers to keep their hands in their pockets after he pulled out of buying his dream home.

Mark Turnbull paid thousands of pounds for hand-made curtains, carpets and electrical appliances after his offer for a luxury house in St Peter's was accepted.

But at the last minute, the 28-year-old discovered the house had suffered from subsidence and he decided to pull out of the sale.

Now he is sleeping on the floor of a friend's home while he looks for another property.

"It's only because Nationwide, my mortgage company, was so conscientious I found out they were not going to be able to insure it, except through a specialist," he said.

The National House Building Council (NHBC) maintained the house, in Barbel Close, off Bath Road, was no longer suffering from subsidence.

"The house was affected by slight subsidence but NHBC had it monitored for a year," said a spokeswoman.

"The house that Mr Turnbull wanted to buy is in good condition. It has no outstanding problems and still has the full protection of NHBC's Buildmark insurance."

Mr Turnbull insisted the NHBC forgot to mention there had been a problem with subsidence on the £130,000 mock-Tudor house. He said a member of staff admitted it later in a phone call.

By the time he discovered the facts he was £5,400 out-of-pocket for the furnishings, appliances and loss of income.

But despite reassurances from the NHBC, he felt unhappy about going ahead with the sale and pulled out.

"I would advise people not to buy anything in advance," added Mr Turnbull.

"It's the biggest mistake I've made and I won't make it again."