THE COUNCIL has been caught in a stink, after a tenant claimed eight buckets of sewage crashed through her kitchen ceiling.

Mum-of-three Claire Bailey has blamed a poorly-fitted toilet at her terraced council home in Walcot for the problems.

Now, the 38-year-old says the council is failing to repair the damaged ceiling and has left a strip light dangling by its electric cord.

“I have got no light in the kitchen. This strip light, it’s hanging from wires,” she said.

Claire has lived in the three-bedroomed end-of-terrace home for five years. The council tenant, who suffers from a number of conditions including MS and osteoporosis, was shocked when last month she saw the tell-tale drips falling through her kitchen.

She said: “Eight buckets of sewage came through my kitchen ceiling.” It flooded her fridge/freezer, destroying groceries and medication. “I had to throw all my food away. The council was unwilling to give me anything back.”

Husband Ricky, 35, added: “There was a bubbling effect in the ceiling. I turned round and I saw some brown water coming through the plasterboard.”

The flood has been blamed on a badly plumbed specialist toilet, installed as part of a fitted wet room by contractors on behalf of the council.

And Claire said a council worker initially refused to clear the damaged plasterboard ceiling. The work had to be done later by council cleaners, she claimed.

An electric strip light is still hanging from the kitchen ceiling and Claire says the roof joists are beginning to show signs of mould. Only one electricity socket in the kitchen was still working.

She said: “It’s an absolute nightmare.

“It’s dangerous. Even my social worker has said it’s a dangerous place to live.

“I’d love to have the work done. If you saw the conditions I had to live in, it’s disgusting. You’d be disgusted.”

Ricky added: “Our ceiling’s been like that for four weeks now. We’ve not had one letter, one phone call or anything from the council.” When he tried to call the council’s repair teams he was left waiting on hold, he said.

What does Swindon Borough Council say?

A spokesman said: “We fixed the leaking toilet earlier this month and, due to our operatives being unequipped to deal with contaminated waste, a specialist cleaning company came out to clean the sewage which had seeped into the floor void.

“The ceiling was taken down in a controlled manner by the cleaning company and any mess cleaned up immediately.

“The light fittings have been dropped by our electrician to prevent water penetrating into the electrics. They have been left in a safe condition.

“We are happy to report that we will visit the property today (Wednesday, June 27) to fix the ceiling and refit the strip light.”