A DISGUSTED Winsford tenant and his disabled wife have been forced to move into a ram-shackle house after Vale Royal Borough Council failed to make necessary basic repairs.

Andrew and Jeanette Shaw were shocked to find that their new home, in Chiltern Way, on the Over Estate, was no better than when they had viewed it and demanded improvements before they would move in.

Andrew, 36, said: "When we viewed the house it was uninhabitable and the inspector agreed.

"A neighbour said the workmen were here for three weeks, but all they seem to have done is install a new bath and a bit of plastering."

The couple were also without a gas supply for a week while they were waiting for a pipe to be installed, leaving arthritic Jeanette unable to take the hot baths that she needs.

Among the other horrors they found were:

Signs of dampness and rotting.

Doors which are nearly falling off.

A heating unit which was falling to pieces.

Poor repair work on the skirting boards and bathroom tiling.

Andrew, who looks after his wife full time, is currently working to repair the house himself.

Jeanette, who suffers from Osteo-Arthritis, is worried that with winter around the corner the house may still not be ready.

She said: "I want this house safe and sound. I want the repairs doing properly so we don't have to keep getting the contractors out all the time.

"Once my husband decorates that should be it, I want a home to be proud of, so how can we live in this?"

Chris Rowbottom, borough council head of housing, said: "We will get the repairs resolved as quickly as we can. We will, in lieu of the fact that there are a number of repairs outstanding, look at amending that as some form of compensation and we will work with Social Services to adapt the property to their needs."

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