A disabled woman has opened up on her agony after being forced to spend the festive period in a damp-ridden home. Nine days before Christmas Michelle Dark, 67, from Cheshire, woke to find water coming into her retirement home, leaving parts of it submerged.
It wasn't until almost 40 hours later that the flooding - which was caused by a burst pipe next door - was stopped following several calls to her housing provider's emergency line and firefighters even attending her home.
Michelle, who lives alone and suffers from arthritis and severe fibromyalgia, was left with soaking-wet carpets and furniture. And she says despite multiple calls to her landlord Anchor, she is still, almost three weeks on, 'paddling around' her property.
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"It's been hell and it still is hell. It's been really horrible. I wouldn't wish this on my own worst enemy" she told Cheshire Live. "Its wrong, it shouldn't be like this.
"I should've been put somewhere else but I'm still here. I'm fed up of crying about it so I don't want to cry anymore as it just adds to the flood."
Michelle first noticed the water coming into her home, on Elm Court in Crewe, at around 9am on December 16. She said she called Anchor and was told it would take 24 hours for a plumber to come out.
When they did come the next day, December 17, she said they could not find where the leak was coming from. The fire brigade attended and they also couldn't find the source of the issue.
Michelle said it got to the point where parts of her home were under three inches of water. "It was getting worse" she said. "By the time they came it was all in my lounge, hall and bedroom."
The plumber came again after the fire service attended and they found the source of the leak was a burst pipe in the loft of a neighbouring property. The occupants had been away on holiday and Michelle said their ceiling had collapsed.
They managed to stop the leak at around 7.30pm on December, 17. Michelle claims it was almost 40 hours since she believed the problem had begun in the early hours of the previous day.
By this point, Michelle's carpets had been ruined and her bed was soaking wet, as were many of her clothes and possessions. Despite the condition of her home, Michelle said she has been 'left' there with nobody from Anchor coming to sort out the problem over the Christmas period.
A kind resident came around on Christmas Eve to help remove some of the water, without charge. She said they ended up emptying around six buckets worth of water. She said she has been provided with a vacuum and a dehumidifier.
Michelle claims she was initially told Anchor would help her replace her carpets and furniture but has since been informed that she must go through her contents insurance company.
She said she has struggled to get anyone from her insurance company or Anchor to come out to see her over the Christmas period.
According to Michelle, someone was due to visit her to help sort out the issue on December 29 but this was cancelled. She was scheduled to have a meeting with the area manager on Thursday (January 5) - nearly three weeks after the initial incident.
Anchor say the local manager attended the site 'on several occasions' to check on her well-being. They also said an offer of alternative accommodation was made but 'refused'.
Michelle said she refused the offer because it came at 9pm on the day of the incident and it was to stay in Anchor's accommodation at Guilden Sutton - more than 20 miles away.
She said that, as she uses a mobility scooter to get around and can't drive, it would be too difficult for her to get there, especially during the train strikes.
As well as the impact on her mental health, Michelle said it's beginning to affect her financially. She said she has had to have her heating on almost constantly to try and dry out her home. She's also concerned about mould growing in the property.
She said: "I have really bad arthritis and bad fibromyalgia so when my arthritis plays up, it affects my nerves which makes my fibromyalgia worse. I'm either in bed all day or in constant pain.
"Four months ago, I was suicidal and I had a new social worker. I had only just finished 12 weeks of mental health treatment. I was actually feeling good for the first time in a long time.
"Then just days after having my last meeting, I've had this and it's just taken me straight back down again. It's not my fault this happened over Christmas so to keep getting told 'we can't do anything because it's Christmas' is just horrible.
"It's just horrendous the way they've treated me. You wouldn't do this to anybody - leave them in this. They've enjoyed their Christmas and New Year. Hopefully, when they get back to work they'll come and see me."
Bernadette Wason, Anchor's operations manager for Elm Court, apologised for the 'inconvenience caused' and said they were 'doing everything' they could to 'resolve it as quickly as possible'.
She said: “As soon as we were made aware of the matter we addressed it immediately. Sadly it did take our maintenance contractor longer than expected to attend the site and we have launched an investigation into why this happened.
“The local manager has attended the site on several occasions and has been speaking with the resident to ensure their wellbeing, to continue to keep them updated and to provide any additional support they may require. We have offered the resident alternative accommodation which has been refused.
“We will continue to support the resident and apologise again for the inconvenience caused. The health, safety and wellbeing of our residents is paramount."
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