Sussex woman slams Adur District Council over freezing home

Nancy O’Neill has arthritis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a lung condition that causes breathing difficulties, which she says are exacerbated by the poor state of her council home in Glebelands Close, Shoreham.

The property has cracks in the walls and mould and the retired maid says there is a hole in the roof.

Ms O’Neill, who has lived in the property for three years, says Adur District Council has done "nothing" to help her despite the 66-year-old constantly reporting the issues.

“They really have neglected me,” she said. “I’m suffering terribly and it’s freezing cold.

There is mould in the property (Image: The Argus)

“I can’t sleep in the bedroom. I hate it.

“I feel sick living here.”

Ms O’Neill moved from another council property which she says had mice.

She wants to be moved to a new home.

“Nobody cares,” she said. “I’ve been ignored.

“Nobody seems to help, they’ve done nothing.”

There are cracks in the wall (Image: The Argus)

A council spokesman apologised for Ms O’Neill’s experience.

"Everyone living in an Adur Homes property deserves to have a good, safe and secure home, and our teams are committed to making this a reality,” he said.

“We’re very sorry that in this case we have failed to fix the issues in our tenant’s home swiftly and understand her frustration. We’re due to survey her property next week to plan the work needed.

“In the last nine months we have been transforming Adur Homes to ensure that our residents get the homes and service that they deserve, with new programmes put in place to tackle a wide range of health and safety issues across our properties.

“We recognise that our tenants may not have felt the effect of that change yet, but over the coming months they will see our contractors carrying out repairs and improvement works at our homes across the district.”