72-year-old James Stubbs made the horrific discovery after a two week break in SpainJames Stubbs, 72, was left horrified by the discovery after a two-week holiday (Image: Submitted )

A retired army veteran was left devastated when he returned home from a holiday to find his flat ‘covered’ in human waste.

72-year-old James Stubbs said he and his wife made the horrible discovery at his home in Denton in the small hours of October 2 after arriving on a late flight back from Alicante.

“It was about 3am when we eventually got back,” he told the M.E.N. “We turned the lights on, and saw immediately that the whole flat was covered in human waste.”

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While he had been away, one of the drains of the block of flats had been blocked by a tree root.

“All the waste from all the flats couldn’t drain, and my flat is on the ground floor, closest to the blockage,” he said. “So it all came back up through my toilet and bath.”

The drains backed up into his bathroom(Image: Submitted )

Mr Stubbs reported the problem to his housing association, Irwell Valley Homes, immediately. A plumber and a drainage team came out to inspect the damage and clear the drain, and he was put up in a hotel in the meantime.

But almost a month on, Mr Stubbs says his flat is still ‘uninhabitable’ – and claims his housing provider has been slow to respond to the issue.

“It’s taken three weeks for Irwell Valley Housing to have a face to face chat with me,” he claimed. “The carpets are mouldy, the floor is mouldy, it’s all my possessions.

“Eventually I called my MP (Andrew Gwynne) and he made a call to Irwell Valley Homes – then I had a meeting arranged within the hour.

“But when we did meet, they said I was supposed to have contents insurance – and that it’s me who will have to rip up the carpets and get a skip.

“They say the contents of the property are my responsibility, not theirs, and they won’t get the cleaning team in until I have cleared it.”

Parts of his home have begun to go mouldy (Image: Submitted )

Mr Stubbs, who was born and raised in Gorton and served in the British Army in Ireland and West Germany in the 1970s, says he doesn’t feel able to do this. “I’m 72, I’ve got vascular dementia and I suffer from COPD,” he said.

“It’s still not habitable and the smell in there is horrendous. The floor and all my things are covered in sewage – everything is mouldy.

“It’s all my possessions but I can only spend a couple of minutes in there at a time.”

Mr Stubbs is 72 and an army veteran(Image: Submitted )

Irwell Valley Homes said the removal of the damaged carpets and the ‘environmental clean’ of Mr Stubb’s home was now complete, adding that they would ‘not expect a customer’ to do this.

A spokesperson for the housing association said: “Our team attended the same day Mr Stubbs reported the issue to us.

“We provided alternative accommodation whilst works took place to deal with the blockage. Industrial cleaners completed an environmental clean of the bathroom once the blockage was cleared and the repair was complete.

“We are sorry that there has been a delay to the cleaning and disinfection of the rest of the home. This work has been arranged by us, and we have communicated this to the customer. We are sorry this has taken longer than usual.”