AN elderly man had to sleep in an armchair for months after water poured through the ceiling of his home.

Trevor Blackford, who lives in Park Farm, Upper Stratton, said the incident happened in March after Sanctuary Housing did work in the bathroom in the flat above.

He told the Adver: “I called Sanctuary and explained to them that the water was coming in, they came out straight away.

“They repaired upstairs and then told me they’d report it. There must have been a couple of weeks before somebody came out. They got me a dehumidifier to dry it out, but then we got the environmental health to come out.

“They said I had asbestos in the ceiling. This was in August. They took the asbestos down, and two weeks ago they put the ceiling back up, but they haven’t painted it, the wallpaper is still hanging off.”

Trevor, 71, had to live in his living room for around eight months, unable to sleep in his bed. “They’ve got a guest room here; they didn’t even offer that. To have to live in one room is disgusting, I’m getting a nervous wreck to be honest.”

He said: “I’ve tried to help here, and with my own money, I’ve put a bench, and as you come into the carpark, I’ve put plants in, pots in, made it look nice, I’ve spent about £500 doing that. But they’re not helping me at all,” Trevor said.

His son-in-law Robert Kordula emailed Sanctuary Housing several times to help Trevor.

“They managed to work on the property upstairs. They didn’t care about downstairs,” Robert said. “They’ve treated him like absolute garbage. He’s paid his rent every month, he’s never been late.

“As a landlord, if they’ve made that mess, they should do whatever they have to, to get him back and running as soon as possible. Trevor has spent nearly eight months living in his living room, which for me is a disgrace for a company this big. We were actually having renovation at my house, otherwise we would have taken him in.”

He added: “They didn’t even offer assistance to move out his stuff from the bedroom. So, we helped him get some of his stuff out of there. But it should be down to them because there are the one causing the issue.”

“We’re supposed to look after our elderly, not make life more difficult for them.”

A spokesperson for Sanctuary Housing said: “The leak from the flat above Mr Blackford’s was reported to us on 15 June and we are sorry it has taken longer than usual to complete the required repairs.

“Following the leak, we provided dehumidifiers to help the drying process and initially it did not appear the ceiling needed replacing. When it was later established that work to replace ceiling was required, the repairs were completed in line with the Covid restrictions our operatives have been carefully following.

“While in normal circumstances, as stated in our tenancy agreements, decorating is the responsibility of the tenant who rents the property, on this occasion we understand Mr Blackford’s frustration and have spoken to him to advise we will be offering additional assistance.”