Woman living in mould-covered Swindon home 'overwhelmed with support'

Mary had been living in the mould-covered home for years before asking for help

A disabled pensioner says she has been "overwhelmed with support" to help fix her mould-covered home.

The Swindon community has come together after a friend of the pensioner posted about her situation on social media.

The woman, who wishes to be anonymous and is being referred to as Mary by the BBC, had been living in the bungalow for years before reaching out.

Brendan O'Neill, one of the those who have come to her aid, said: "No human should have to live like this."

Mr O'Neill, who works for a damp specialists in Swindon, is among many people in the area who have offered to help for free after seeing Janet Reynolds' message about the mouldy and rat-infested bungalow.

All of Mary's damaged belongings have had to be destroyed

Mary had moved into a second bedroom in the property after conditions in her bedroom deteriorated.

Mr O'Neill said: "The floor had about two inches of water underneath it. There's water across the whole building. The floor had collapsed in certain areas.

"No human should live like this," Mr O'Neill said

"Mary, by luck alone, got out of the bed on the left rather than the right where there is a 4ft hole which Mary certainly would have gone down. I know that because I went down it.

"It's just horrendous, the whole property is destroyed. The floor is so dangerous."

He added: "The smell was horrendous. I said to Janet 'you need to get her out of the property straight away' and it's all snowballed from there."

Janet Reynolds said her friend had been too embarrassed to ask for help

Ms Reynolds, who organised the community response, said all of Mary's belongings have had to be destroyed.

She said she had not realised how bad the problem had become and that it took Mary, who is blind in one eye and has heart disease, a long time to ask for help because she had felt embarrassed.

Ms Reynolds asked charities to help her friend before making an appeal on social media as a last resort.

Mary had moved into a second bedroom in the property after conditions in her bedroom deteriorated

She said Mary is "doing okay" and is staying with her.

"The generosity of the public has been outstanding. Tradesmen, the general public, the donations have been incredible.

"There is nothing left. It all had to be condemned so we're starting from scratch. From the bottom up we need everything," she added.