A pensioner says she is 'living a nightmare' in a flat with a broken boiler - and now it's making her ill.
Ann Trentham, who trained to be a residential inspector before she retired, said her kitchen also gets flooded as a result of the malfunctioning unit, ruining the floor and furniture.
The 75-year-old suffers from a long-term lung condition and said the average temperature in her home is 14 °C since the boiler broke down. She called Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH) on December 18, when she noticed water pouring out of the boiler in the kitchen.
Ms Trentham said: "Because it happened on a Sunday, I had to call MTVH out of hours. I said that I have had a flood and if they could send an engineer. He came and confirmed that I have done the right thing isolating the boiler switch and that is all I needed to do.
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"I was left with the floor to mop up. I am 75, I have got a lung condition and I have no heating or hot water. I am devastated."
She believes that a backflow of water came inside from where the condensate pipe goes into the drain. Ms Trentham said that a worker attended the property on Leys Road, Ruddington, a few days later and drained the boiler.
However, she said she woke up to another flood after hearing water dripping in the middle of the night. "And this went on with me making numerous calls to MTVH", she added.
Ms Trentham said her kitchen is now in a "terrible state", as the water has damaged her kitchen floor and her cupboard. "It is in a terrible state, water has gone through the cracks all over it and it is a trip hazard. The cupboards smell awful. I have had to take all the dried food out."
Despite her best efforts to save the kitchen floor with eight towels, Ms Trentham said she has nowhere to air them as she has no heating. She added: "I have been cold the whole time because I can only heat the lounge. The rest of the flat has been 14 °C.
"My daughter lent me an oil heater that you just plug in. But I cannot heat my whole flat with that.
"Just a week ago this Saturday, I had the most terrible flood. The whole kitchen was under two inches of water. I had to put the fan heater after I mopped everything. I had to use a pack of puppy training pads to absorb all the water.
"I have spent a fortune mopping up after the flood. And I had to do that for two days with the window open because I did not want to cause mould. I have spent too much money and I am cold.
"My daughter offered for me to go and stay with her but I was emptying bowls every hour - I felt like I had to be there because otherwise everything would have been in a worse state."
She also said that the ordeal made her feel "emotional", adding: "I am trying to walk around the local park every day because that is the only thing that is keeping me sane. Sometimes I feel like I could sit down and just scream and scream.
"I am going to make a complaint because they [MTVH] were supposed to make me feel safe and secure and they have done none of those things. I am living a nightmare and it has absolutely impacted my health. I think that when I know exactly what I spent on the electricity it will impact my health even more."
A spokesperson for Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing said: “Ms. Trentham rightly expects to be able to live in warmth and comfort in her home. We deeply sympathise with her and apologise for the distress that she has experienced during this very difficult time. Unfortunately, restoring heating and hot water to her home is taking longer than anticipated. Initially, we assessed that her boiler could be repaired with new parts. However, on further inspection when these were fitted, it became clear that a new boiler was required.
"This will be installed this week at which point we expect heating and hot water will be fully restored. Throughout this period, we have provided a temporary heating solution. We will of course support Ms. Trentham should she have any further issues which need to be addressed.”
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