Forest of Dean woman feels 'shot to pieces' over living conditions

Pippa Tovey's kitchen caught fire in the middle of the night last October because of electrical faults

A woman whose house caught fire through faulty electrics as her family slept says they are living in a "death trap".

Social housing tenant Pippa Tovey, 50, said she and two daughters, one of whom is severely disabled, were then left with an unusable kitchen for months.

A councillor, who visited the Forest of Dean property, agreed it was "dangerous and not fit for use".

Stonewater, which runs the house, said the kitchen was refitted and fixed the electrics between March and May.

But Ms Tovey said the kitchen in Bream, Gloucestershire, still had electrical faults, with sockets leaking water and holes in the wall, despite the repair work.

Pippa Tovey lives with her children in the Stonewater property

"There's many electrical sockets that, because they haven't put the kitchen together properly, are leaking water," Ms Tovey says.

"I can't have the washing machine on and wash up at the same time - I'm scared I'm going to electrocute myself. It's a death-trap."

Ms Tovey said her house was full of electrical problems

Ms Tovey lives in the three-bedroom house with her daughters Charlie, nine, and Jessie, 24, who has severe disabilities.

When they moved in in 2021, she said the heating did not work properly, and despite telling the housing association numerous times, it was only recently fixed.

"It was found to be all clogged up with gunk. It was extremely cold over winter," Ms Tovey says.

Then in October, Ms Tovey woke in the middle of the night to find the kitchen on fire.

Trained firefighter

"Jess and I were in bed and I woke up, came down, opened the kitchen door and it was floor to ceiling in flames."

Luckily, she says she had been trained as a firefighter and managed to put it out.

The mother-of-two was was told the fire was believed to be caused by faulty electrics behind the cooker.

But afterwards, she said the landlord did "nothing" until the police did a welfare check in December.

Ms Tovey said work to fix the kitchen did not start until February

The actual work to fix the kitchen did not start until February, so Ms Tovey paid for a skip and gutted it herself.

Since the work was done on the kitchen in March and May, she said the flooring keeps coming up.

"The fire happened in October so you can't tell me it takes that long to fit a kitchen and I haven't cooked a meal for my kids since October," says Ms Tovey.

"I've been using an air fryer, I can pick [the lino] up in my hands and there's a gap at the bottom of the wall where outside water comes into the house."

Stonewater has said it has since fixed the broken cooker

Stonewater said it has also refitted the kitchen, but agrees there are a few "snagging" jobs left to fix

"I haven't used this kitchen since September, so we are struggling.

"I'm shot to pieces. I've been in tears and I'm on the most amount of meds I can be on for my anxiety."

She said the company that carries out the work for the housing association had tested the electrics and told her they were "all fine".

Ms Tovey said since repairs were made to the cooker, the hob shattered in May and no one has fixed it

"We shouldn't have ever been put in this house because Jess can't get up and down stairs. I'm lifting her in and out of the bath every day, so its not ideal anyway," Ms Tovey added.

Forest of Dean District councillor Tim Gwilliam, who visited the house on Thursday, said he would be "surprised if Stonehouse regarded the repairs as complete and the kitchen as safe".

"I saw open sockets, a draining board that doesn't drain away, loose units and things like that. It doesn't look right to me," he said.

"I don't know how she does what she does. I've written to some council officers that have expertise in this, to explain what I've seen and what I should be doing next.

"The rest of the house is spotless, so she's clean she's tidy, but that kitchen is not fit for use."

Forest of Dean councillor Tim Gwilliam said the kitchen does not look fit for use

A Stonewater spokesperson said they recognised "the family's current home isn't right for their needs" and will "continue to do all they can to support them".

"We fitted a new kitchen towards the end of March, new flooring in May, and a work order was raised in June to address the 'snagging' jobs," they said.

"Completion has been hampered by a lack of response by Ms Tovey to contractor communications and it's now currently re-booked for 13 July.

They explained this particular case was "very complex" and were "working with multi-agency partners to address the family's needs".

"We know Ms Tovey would prefer to move but, unfortunately, we have no alternative homes in the area which are either already adapted or suitable for adaptation," they added.