A vulnerable pensioner living alone fell ill and struggled through two winters without heating or hot water after a leak ruined her home.

Patricia - who did not wish to give out her last name - started sleeping in the living room during the pandemic after a burst pipe caused black mould to spread around her beloved bungalow, where she has lived since the 1970s.

The 70-year-old struggled to speak up about the deteriorating state of the house she had lived in for nearly 50 years, and so went without hot meals for at least 18 months while breathing in air so thick with damp that she was hospitalised with pneumonia and sepsis.

 

She told the Adver: “It was hell. I only had something to eat if I managed to scare the rats off by knocking the radiator with my stick.

"I couldn’t cook anything, I just had sandwiches and cups of tea - and would be very quick about it.

“I couldn’t let anyone inside because it was so disgusting. How could I ask for help? It was too embarrassing, I just got used to it. My stubbornness and pride got in the way."

Swindon Advertiser: Pat slept on a sofa in the living room, where another leak was later discovered under the sodden floorboardsPat slept on a sofa in the living room, where another leak was later discovered under the sodden floorboards (Image: Newsquest)

After Pat, who was previously known as Mary in the Adver's coverage because she wanted to remain anonymous, finally told close friend Janet Reynolds about her situation, she lived with Janet while Emerald Damp Specialists employee Brendan O’Neill led a DIY SOS-style project to make the place habitable again.

READ MORE: Watch the moment Pat moved back into her newly-renovated home

Sandra Kennelly oversaw fundraising, removing and replacing the furniture, and redecorating.

Sandra praised Janet for starting this effort: "It’s fair to say that Pat was rescued by Janet. As 'Mary' has no living relatives in the UK, she’d have been homeless if Janet hadn’t taken her into her home.

Swindon Advertiser: Mould and damp spread through the hallwayMould and damp spread through the hallway (Image: Dave Cox)

"Janet has cared for Mary in every possible way whilst holding down a full-time job, and re-building Mary’s house every night and on weekends.

"We haven’t got all the names of all the amazing people who have given their time and expertise in all aspects of rebuilding a house, donations of household items, and to the donors via the GoFundMe page which has gone toward paying for raw materials and much more to bring the property back into a beautifully restored home for Mary to reside in comfortably, safely, warm, dry and nourished."

More than 70 companies donated their time, effort, and supplies for free, while kind Swindonians donated £16,000 to cover the remaining costs of the revamp.