A READING mother says she been forced to use a bin bag to protect a broken window at her flat near the town centre.
Problems for Rochelle Bennett began when a window panel fell out, reportedly as a result of the wood around the frame rotting due to damp and mould.
She says she tried to get her housing association, Metropolitan Thames Valley, to resolve the issue but had been unable to do so.
Ms Bennett lives on Oxford Road with her one-year-old son, and daughters aged 12 and seven.
“My son is ill with a respiratory problem, this is my last resort, I don’t know what to do,” she said.
“It’s disgusting. I’ve lived here for 12 years and finally it’s broken, and nothing’s being done.”
To keep her family warm, Ms Bennett says she has needed to use her gas heating and electric fire more than she would want to due to the high energy costs.
“I have to have them on all the time. I spent £60 in gas in four days,” she said. “The window is broken and it’s freezing. I can’t win.
“The problem is the window ideally needs to be open because of the damp and mould.
“The panel got so damp, the wood crumbled, and the window fell out. It’s an ongoing issue that’s just being ignored.”
Ms Bennett claims to have struggled to get hold of Metropolitan Thames Valley and the contractors due to being busy working as a healthcare assistant for the NHS.
“My kids go to three different places, then I’ve got to go to work,” she explained. “I tried to chase them, but no one is doing anything.”
She added that she received a sick note from the doctor who signed her off from work to give her time to get the issue sorted.
Ms Bennett said: “Living here is stressing me out. I can’t even do my job with this stress.”
The housing association said it is in the process of resolving the problems.
A Metropolitan Thames Valley spokesperson said: “Ms Bennett rightly expects to live in a warm and dry home. As such, we are working to make sure that her window is fully repaired as soon as possible.
“After Ms Bennett reported that a repair was required, we quickly boarded up the window as an emergency measure.
“We then visited again soon after to take measurements for a replacement window. On inspection it was clear that this was not a straightforward job and the damage to the window’s timber frame requires a specialist contractor to repair it and replace the glazing.
“It is therefore taking longer than Ms Bennett had hoped to repair the window, but we want to do a good job, and the work is expected be completed by Friday, February 23.”
They added: “We were not aware of any issue of mould in Ms Bennett’s home. We take all instances of damp and mould very seriously. We have arranged to visit Ms. Bennett at her home to carry out an inspection. Any treatment required to remove mould will be carried out as quickly as possible.
“We understand that this has been an uncertain and difficult period for Ms Bennett and we will continue to work with her to ensure that these issues are resolved.”
