An autistic boy was hospitalised and knocked out a tooth after the flooring in his home was removed under a heavily criticised policy.
Harley Tremayne got badly splintered feet and endured a nasty tumble down the stairs at his home in St Albans, Hertfordshire because of the state of the floor.
Before the three-year-old and his family moved into the property in 2020, flooring that was inside the home was ripped up to comply with regulation.
As a result the cash-strapped family spent two years living in a home rendered cold and inhospitable due to a lack of carpet and wooden boards.
After hearing about people in similar situations having offered to donate her own old carpet on a Facebook group, St Albans resident Pia Honey decided she would help out.
The mum and aspiring councillor got hold of a large shipping container and began filling it full of used flooring, which she hands out in return for a small voluntary donation to whoever needs it.
In less than two months, and with the assistance of many generous donations, Pia has helped around 50 people lay flooring in their homes and is now working to spread the idea out across the UK.
"I plan to take the blueprint of what I am doing nationally, because already I have requests for flooring from Cambridge and Essex," Pia told The Mirror.
"Since I’ve been doing this, for about three months now, I have seen a marked difference in the way people dispose of their preloved carpets.
"They are considering others, and being mindful. It’s great to see. I’ve saved a lot from landfill, and almost 50 families have benefited so far, with more flooring scheduled for collection next week.
"I also have in mind incentives for major carpet chains. It would make them more environmentally friendly and favourable to consumers, would also save them money with commercial waste."
Pia, who is running in St Albans Sopwell Ward as an independent in the local election this week, is motivated by the prospect of helping others and protecting the environment.
Studies in Scotland estimate 7,700 tonnes of flooring is removed from social housing properties in the country every 12 months.
Although no research has been done for the whole of the UK, the above figure scaled up for the country's 5.2 million social homes suggest 80,000 tonnes of flooring is ripped out each year.
Harley, his siblings and parents are one of thousands of families who have been living with the consequences of councils' flooring policies.
Not only has this meant they've been living in a cold, uncomfortable house, but they have had to contend with spiky carpet grippers and patches of glue on the floor.
This is particularly challenging for Harley who has autism.
His mum Natalie Jones said: "My son has a lot of meltdowns and he throws himself on the floor.
"He has knocked one of his teeth out because he slipped down the stairs on residue from the old carpet on the stairs. We could never get the stuff up.
"He went down from the top to the bottom.
"We also had loose wood on the stairs and he got a splinter between his toe. It got infected. He wouldn't let us remove it because he's autistic. All the floors were so slippy, no matter how hard you clean them."
Natalie, 33, thinks that the flooring should've been left in from the previous tenants, so they could've kept their house warmer and saved energy.
"It is always so loud and it is absolutely freezing," she continued.
"The amount we spend on gas, especially now that the prices have gone up. If they have left the flooring here we could have kept it until we're in a good place."
The family have only just managed to get flooring down after two years in the home, thanks to the kindness of a local carpet fitter who gave them a discount, and Pia Honey.
"What Pia is doing has helped me and my family is amazing," Natalie continued.
"She is a godsend. Without her we'd still be without flooring. she is a lovely lady."
A spokesperson for St Albans Council said: "We do have a flooring policy for our social housing based on the best practice of other local authorities and housing associations.
"As part of their tenancy agreement, tenants are asked to remove all flooring such as carpets before the property is handed back.
"This is because – the flooring may be in a poor condition and unpleasant for the incoming tenants; and pets may have been in the house posing a risk of flea infestations.
"In some instances, which are quite rare, flooring may be ‘gifted’ to the incoming tenant – if the carpet is newly laid, there is confirmation of no pets and it is treated for fleas as a precaution; where the flooring is suitable for new flooring to be laid on top, often where there may be issues with glue or tiling underneath."
To view Pia's petition calling for a change to the policies, click here.
