A GRANDMOTHER who warned a housing association about a leaking roof has been rushed to hospital after slipping on a wet floor.

Sandra Blake, 62, has been complaining to Vivid since September about a hole in her ceiling which was causing a leak on the floor of her two-bedroomed bungalow in Odiham.

But after months of ‘inaction’, Sandra found herself hospitalised after sliding over on the wet floor.

Her live-in carer managed to ring 999 and paramedics found the victim out cold on the floor of her sitting room.

It comes after Ms Blake contacted the Gazette previously to report an ongoing leak at her property which she claimed housing association Vivid had been ‘ignoring’.

Then days later, following heavy rain, the leak worsened and Ms Blake slipped over and found herself seriously injured.

At the time the Gazette went to press, Ms Blake remained at Odiham Cottage Hospital for the results of her x-rays come through.

The housebound pensioner has been living with the damaged roof since the beginning of September which has ridden her house with rats and allowed the rain to leak into the house and damage to her electrics.

Carer Sharon Murphey, 50, said: “I’d only popped out of the house for ten minutes to grab some milk from the village shop but she’d obviously got up to let the dog out and slipped on the water.

“When I got back I found her lying on the floor in the water unconscious. Luckily there was an ambulance team nearby and they managed to get to us within five minutes before they strapped her up and sent her off.”

Several surveyors have been over the property to assess the damage in the roof but have currently resolved the issue by leaving a black bucket underneath the hole which has overflowed and ruined numerous rugs and electrical appliances.

Her full-time carer, Sharon Murphey, 50, was left on hold for over an hour and a half with the emergency contact number for Vivid Housing Association on Sunday afternoon (December 15) after plumes of smoke from a nearby fire were blown through the house stating that the earliest they said they could send the plasterer around would be January 6.

Julian Chun, director of property at Vivid Housing Association, said: “We’re very sorry to hear Ms Blake has been taken to hospital following a fall. We’re aware the hole in the living room ceiling hasn’t been fixed quickly enough and we’re taking every step we canto resolve the situation. Our attempts to repair the ceiling have been made more difficult by requiring access through the neighbouring property.

“We’ve confirmed on subsequent visits that there’s been no damage to the electrics and that any leak is being contained. We’ve been in contact with Ms Blake to arrange a further repair visit tomorrow. However, we understand the delay is unacceptable.”

She was advised not to use the damaged wall sockets and light fixtures in her sitting room by Vivid Housing Associations due to the water damage caused by the terrible weather over the last few months.

Speaking from hospital, Sandra told the Gazette: “This isn’t the first time this has happened, you can see where there’s been previous holes in the roof that have been plastered over, as well as the small one above the door.

“It’s not just damaged the lights and the sockets, the rain water has gone through the walls and is now starting to affect the rest of the electricals in the sitting room.

“It’s not safe to live there. What if I had my grandchildren over and they went to use the plug sockets? They’d be dead on the floor and that would be the end of it.”

“This house has given me nothing but illness and problems since the day I moved in. I’ve had to increase my medication just to manage the stress of dealing with them.”

Sandra has struggled to move on with her life after her son, Robert Spence, was brutally stabbed by three men during a night out in Reading town centre on May2, 2008 at the age of 17.

CCTV showed him and his six friends leave Bar Mango on Hosier Street at 4am when one of his friends got into a fight which quickly spiralled out of control, resulting in Robert’s death from 16 stab wounds to his chest.

She was diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety which she takes medication for to help combat her daily struggles, leaving her housebound and dependant on her live-in carer to help support her.

She has lived in the property since February 2019 and has had problems with the housing association since the start of her rental agreement, including a three month wait on the instillation of the bath.

Reflecting on the event she said: “It’s just disgusting the way they’ve treated me. I’m not happy staying with them and I will be looking for an alternative house as soon as I am able to. Don’t bother working with them, they don’t treat the people right.”

n Have you had a similar problem with your housing association? Contact Bethany.whittingham@newsquest.co.uk