Elderly residents without water for days at flats

Elderly residents living in sheltered housing, including a 100-year-old woman, have said they have "had enough" after being without water since Monday afternoon.

John Benton, who has lived at Wimborne House in Bournemouth for four years, said he has had "nothing but water issues" and that dozens of residents have been affected.

The 60-year-old electronics engineer said they were given bottled water on Tuesday but they were still unable to flush their toilets or have showers.

The site, made up of 38 flats, is run by Sanctuary Housing Association, which said its contractor "will complete the repairs as soon as the specialist part required is delivered".

Mr Benton said: "Generally the maintenance on this place has been an issue."

He claimed it took almost a year for them to fix his shower when it leaked.

"It's been constant," he said.

The BBC previously reported on the flats in 2022, when they were without water for 11 days.

Mr Benton who pays rent and a service charge for his studio flat, is concerned about how long the residents will have to wait this time around.

He said residents have "had enough" and believed Sanctuary Housing Association "shouldn't be penny pinching on stuff like this".

He added that he was worried for some of the older residents who might not be able to get out and look after themselves as well as he can.

"One woman had her 100th birthday in April and some are in their 90s," he said.

"A lot of people there live in their flat and only come out to do the bare necessities."

A spokesperson for Sanctuary said: "Our contractor will complete the repairs as soon as the specialist part required is delivered and we are sorry for the disruption the water pump issue has caused our customers.

"In the meantime, we have provided all affected households with bottled water to use and we will also ensure our Scheme Manager continues to carry out regular welfare checks with our customers until the fault is resolved."

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