A CHIPPENHAM woman who has been unable to shower for three weeks feels she has been let down by her housing association, after they ripped out her walk-in shower and told her it could not be replaced before Christmas.

Denise Shergold was initially told by GreenSquare that it would be December 23 before a leak could be repaired at her flat in Croft Court, despite numerous attempts to fix the problem. She was also told that even then, the shower itself would not be working.

The 62-year-old, who suffered a stroke in 2001 leaving her unable to use the left side of her body, has had to rely on carers to help her have a sponge bath her every morning.

After being contacted by the Gazette & Herald this week, Greensquare promised the shower would be fixed by the weekend, but Mrs Shergold said she had lost faith in the company.

“I think there’s an underlying problem that GreenSquare don’t want to deal with,” said Mrs Shergold, who lives in supported housing.

“It’s just getting ridiculous. I just can’t believe what they say any more.

“I dread waking up every morning because I can’t go and have a decent shower.

“If someone said to me they were moving into a GreenSquare property I’d tell them not to do it.

“For a major company that covers most of Wiltshire I think their attitude is disgusting.”

The problem with the walk-in shower started only months after Mrs Shergold moved into the flat in February 2014, with water not draining away properly.

Since then several attempts have been made to fix the problem by GreenSquare, including changing the pump, after water began to leak under the carpets and into other rooms in the flat.

Since the shower tray was ripped up a dehumidifier has been left at the house for three weeks to dry the floor, but Mrs Shergold’s family are concerned that she can’t empty it on her own and her electricity bills are increasing to keep it operating.

Her daughter, Karen, said: “There was so much water that it had to be done but I have to keep emptying it because she can’t.

“We’ve not been offered anything in the way of compensation. It makes me so cross."

On Wednesday a Greensquare spokesman said: "“We accept that this repair has taken longer than expected, and apologise for the inconvenience this has caused.

“When we removed the shower tray to resolve the problem, we found that the leak had caused the area to become very damp, so we needed to allow the bathroom time to dry out before we could do any further repairs. We supplied a dehumidifier to help dry the area as quickly as possible and we have been monitoring it closely.

“Now that the floor is dry, we will be installing the new shower tray and new flooring this week, which means the shower will be up and running again by the weekend.”