A MUM-OF-FOUR has revealed her kids can’t play outside after her garden fence was left damaged for months – with the housing association still yet to fix it.
Ellesse Walters, 31, says the damage to the fence has left exposed nails with strangers even able to wander into her yard, meaning she’s too scared to let her kids play outside.
Ms. Walters, who is currently unemployed, says she has reported the issue to the PA Housing Association but they have consistently failed to repair the damage.
Ellesse said of the situation: “It’s just emotionally destroying when you’re trying to sort it out, and it is for the kids too. You have to be so careful when they go out in the garden, and if they escape, the front of the house is like a car park.”
“I’m upset for the kids, they should be allowed to be kids and go out and play safely in the garden. I’ve been getting on at PA Housing to come and fix it, but I’ve just been ignored” she went on to say.
PA Housing has issued an apology and pledged to fix the damage.
Along with her four children, she has been living in an undersized two-bedroom property for over 11 years.
She has one bedroom, while her 11-year-old son, six-year-old twin boys and four-year-old daughter all have to squeeze into the other.
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Earlier this year storms caused severe damage to the garden fence, leaving dangerous exposed nails and broken panels.
At one point, one of her kids even got out over the destroyed fence onto the busy road next to the property.
Ellesse also says that this is not the first issue she’s had with the housing association as overgrown trees cover the back of the garden and drop branches.
Despite being reported around a year ago, the trees still have not been cut back, as well as delays to repairs on a toilet leaking into the kitchen.
Even when the loo was repaired, flooring had to be ripped up to do it, leaving Ellesse’s house in disarray.
A spokesman for PA Housing said “We apologise for the ongoing problem with the fencing in our resident’s garden – she shouldn’t have needed to wait for this long for it to be fixed. We are taking this matter very seriously, and we will be in touch shortly with a date and time from our local contractor to get this problem sorted”.
However, he insisted the blame was not fully on PA, adding “Since moving into her home, our resident’s family has grown; so while she wasn’t originally living in overcrowded conditions, she is now. We know that she has been actively looking to move, and we’re doing everything we can to support her with this”.
Ellesse remains unconvinced, saying “I’ve tried to explain that to PA Housing as well, but they don’t seem bothered”.
“I’ve been told I can’t be moved because of my tenancy. I just want to be able to move for my family”.
