Elderly Northampton council tenant has been without carpet since July while waiting for council workmen to turn up

An elderly council tenant living in Northampton has been left without wallpaper or carpet in her sitting room since July as she waits to have work on her ceiling finished.

Jean Weir, 82, from Duston, had electrical work carried out by Northampton Partnership Homes seven months ago, during which asbestos was found.

Her carpet was taken away as a result, and decorating work was halted while the ceiling was made safe.

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However, despite repeated promises to finish the work by replastering it, the correct workmen have never showed up.

She said: “They have told me on three separate occasions they’d be round the next day.

“Each time I hauled all my sitting room furniture into my bedroom, which meant I had to sleep on the sofa.

“But they let me down every time.

“One time I was delighted when a workman came around only for him to ask which pipes needed sorting out. He was a plumber.”

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The last straw came on Friday morning when two workmen arrived as planned only to tell Mrs Weir they did not have time to do the job...and would come back two weeks later.

She said: “My son had taken two weeks off and was travelling from Durham to help redecorate. It makes you want to cry.”

A spokesman for Northampton Partnership Homes said a representative had apologised in person for the delay hours after the Chron raised the issue.

He said: “An appointment was raised in late January 2016 but, unfortunately, we underestimated the amount of plaster that was required.

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“This meant we couldn’t complete the work at the allocated appointment time today.

“We have rearranged the earliest possible appointment with Ms Weir and will be completing the re-plastering next week.”

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