Bethany says her son has slept on a mattress on the living roo mfloor while waiting three years for the repairs to be done
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
A mum says that her son has been sleeping on a mattress in their living room thanks to flooding repair works that have taken three years to begin.
In December 2022, the attic of Bethany Fidler’s home flooded, causing damage to her son’s room and the rest of their two bedroom flat in Bury.
Bethany, 33, says that despite the dramatic incident, it took years for Onward Homes, the social housing provider who looked after the block of flats she lives in, to repair the damage.
According to Bethany she had to call on solicitors for help and it was eventually agreed that Onward Homes would carry out repairs within 120 days.
Bethany says her and her son have struggled (Image: Manchester Evening News)
However, Bethany says that once the work started, asbestos was found in her son’s room, and workers had to cease the repairs over safety.
Bethany says that this left her son, Tommyboy McDonald, sleeping in their living room for days without any information on when the work would be finished and if it was safe for them to remain in the flat. Onward Homes has apologised for the delay and say it is treating the “final outstanding repairs as a priority.”
Speaking about the initial flooding all those years ago, Bethany said: “We lost everything, toys, beds, everything that was in there and halfway down the hallway got destroyed. We’ve waited all this time for repairs.
“They were given 120 days to do the repairs. It came to 120 days they hadn’t done them.
“The solicitor messaged them and then they came, they removed a section of the ceiling to check for asbestos and left.
“They did all the air testing things and said it was safe for us to be in the flat but, he couldn’t go in his room because there’s installation hanging out of his ceiling and there was a gaping hole in his ceiling.
“They’re saying they’ve removed the asbestos from my son’s room, but I’ve been told there’s also asbestos in my bathroom ceiling and the other bedroom’s ceiling.”
The ceiling in Tommyboy’s room has been removed
Bethany says that her and Tommyboy, seven, have since been sleeping in the living room of their flat, which has led to stress and fatigue.
“He’s sleeping in the living room, on a mattress, which isn’t fair.” She said, “I have to sleep on the couch with my health conditions and my back problems which is difficult for me.
“With him being seven years old, there’s a big massive gaping hole in his ceiling and that scares him. He already suffers from night terrors as it is, so this isn’t making it any better.
“Plus he’s at school, so he’s at school knackered. I’m getting in trouble because my son is tired at school.
“But Onward don’t seem to care, they won’t even put us somewhere while they do the work, we have to stay in the flat while they do the work.
“My room is full of my son’s things, some of his things are still in his room that I can’t move. It’s not fair.”
“They’re giving them till the end of September to do it. I’m sorry, that’s not good enough, he’s back to school on September 2nd, so they’re going to leave him sleeping on a mattress in the living room for that long?
“It’s more challenging for my son, he’s only seven. He moved here when he was four, so we’ve lived here four years and three of the years, we’ve been waiting for repairs.
“It’s not good for him, all he’s ever known is a house falling apart.”
Work is now being carried out in the family’s flat
The Manchester Evening News understands that the family has been moved to temporary accommodation and the work is expected to last two weeks.
An Onward spokesperson said: “Following a leak in Ms Fidler’s home, we have undertaken repairs to the ceiling and most of this work is now complete. The repairs were delayed as we needed to remove some asbestos which was undertaken by specialists in safe and controlled conditions.
“We are working to complete the final outstanding repairs as a priority. We are very sorry for the length of time taken and understand that this has been a distressing situation and we are in contact with Ms Fidler to understand how we can best support her through to completion of works.
“We will also ensure that she is satisfied with the outcome of the repairs we carry out.”