A woman living in Caversham has been forced out of the bedroom in her home for five months after contractors conducted ceiling works.

Wendy Groucher lives in Waller Court in a house owned by the Paragon Asra (PA) Housing Association.

The house has required ceiling and roofing replacement, with the aged ceiling being taken down on June 24.

However, the ceiling and roofing has not been replaced since then.

She claims she has been left without a ceiling in the main bedroom of her home for five months.

Mrs Groucher said: “I’ve had a leak in my roof for a year, so I've been waiting for a new roof.

“I've had to put plastic containers in the bedroom to catch the rain coming in.

“The containers are full of water from the bad weather we’ve had. I’m waiting for them to repair the roof before they do anything else.”

Mrs Groucher has been forced to sleep in a spare bedroom surrounded by furniture from her main bedroom while she waits for PA Housing contractors to install a new ceiling.

She claims that she can see the loft insulation exposed as well.

Mrs Groucher said: “I keep ringing them  [PA Housing] and they don’t give me any answer, so I've been left without my main bedroom.

“I had to move all the furniture out for them to take the ceiling down. I can’t stand the mess.”

A senior manager at PA Housing has apologised for the long delay and organised workers to establish a new ceiling in her main bedroom.

Charles Ellis, the executive director of asset management for the association said: “I have spoken to Wendy and have apologised for the ongoing delays to her roof being replaced, and for the frustration and distress the situation has caused her.

“A combination of poor internal communication and processes and
miscommunication with Wendy around her availability have contributed to the delays in the roof replacement being completed.

“This is not acceptable and we’re working to improve things to prevent a situation like this from happening again.

“The contractors are due to start on November 28 and work should be completed within four days.

“Again I’m sorry for the experience Wendy has had over the past few months and will continue to liaise with her over the coming days to make sure she is supported, and the work is completed to her satisfaction.”