A PENSIONER says he is living in fear of slipping on water from a leak ‘ignored’ by a housing association.

Len Watson says he has been driven to ‘despair’ after putting up with the problem for weeks on end.

The 74-year-old claims he first complained about the problem with his ceiling five weeks ago – and it still hasn’t been sorted.

He was also informed yesterday by Synergy Housing that the ceiling in question contains asbestos.

Mr Watson, who lives in Littlemoor and is on medication for diabetes and heart problems, fears he may slip on the water, which is coming through the kitchen ceiling from a leak in the flat above.

He said: “When it first happened, they said they would have to wait to get in to the flat above.

“Then when they did get in, they said they couldn’t find anything. They pulled a part of the ceiling off and said they would come back – nothing happened.

“I called them again, they returned, and this time they said it was a leak in the washing machine upstairs.

“Since then, I’ve had no contact with them.”

He added: “I can’t move around my kitchen, I can’t cook properly or wash my things. And it’s dangerous – what if I fall?

“How am I supposed to live here like this?”

Mr Watson is collecting the water in three large pots on the kitchen floor and two pots on the side, which fill up every few days.

He added: “It’s coming through at other parts but I can’t collect it. The floor is soaked.”

He said he feels that he is being passed from ‘pillar to post’ when he calls the housing association.

“They don’t want to take any responsibility for it. The people on the phone say ‘hang on a minute’ and then they keep you on hold for 10 minutes and pass you on to someone else,” he said.

“I’m a pensioner and I don’t have much money and it’s costing me to try and get this problem sorted.

“I’m not a complainer and I don’t ask for much, but this is really getting me down now.”

A Synergy spokesman said: “We can confirm we’re liaising with a customer living at one of our properties in Selwyn Close, Little-moor, regarding a problem with water coming through his ceiling.

“We’ve traced the problem to a washing machine in the property above his home and have now stopped this from leaking.

“We’ve made three separate attempts to gain access to the property the machine is located in while we’ve been investigating this issue, but unfortunately, we weren’t able to enter the property until yesterday.

“We’ll carry out all necessary repairs to the kitchen ceiling as soon as it has dried out.

“We’ve determined the ceiling does contain asbestos and it will be removed safely in accordance with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.”