31078-29Staff from a double-glazing firm are accused of starting to remove a customer's windows after she refused to sign some paperwork.

Claire Cambridge, of Cheney Manor Road, Swindon, says she had to call the police after Coldseal staff refused to leave her home. It was only when officers arrived that the men left.

Mrs Cambridge, 45, and her husband Norman, 63, spent £2,500 on windows and a porch, only to have to call the firm back to correct a series of faults.

At the end of the repair work, Mrs Cambridge was asked to sign a document saying she was happy with the work, but said she wanted to wait a week in case more faults developed. It was then, she claims, that the men refused to leave and began taking out her windows.

She said: "They only stopped when the police came, but they had already removed a pane from the living room."

Coldseal says it is investigating, but says it cannot comment further until it has looked into the claims thoroughly.

The couple's dealings with Coldseal began when a salesman called in January and Mrs Cambridge placed a £2,500 order for windows in the lounge, main bedroom, second bedroom, bathroom and porch. She said: "The work was done in May, but I was not satisfied. The lounge windows had bits sticking out of the frames. There was also a cracked pane.

"There was a window missing from the porch and the back of the letterbox was missing.

"In the main bedroom, some of the rubber sealant was missing and in the second bedroom a large window would not open."

Mrs Cambridge said she demanded that the work be corrected and the fitters arrived yesterday to do so. They then asked her to sign a document saying she was satisfied and ready to pay.

Mrs Cambridge says she has no intention of not paying, but wanted to wait a week. She said: "One of the fitters rang his manager and the manager told me I had to sign. I said I would sign in a week, and he instructed the fitters not to leave.

"I wanted them to leave, but they refused. They also said they had been told to take out the windows."

Mrs Cambridge contacted her husband at work, and he came home. The men refused to stop and had taken a small window from the lounge before the police arrived.

Swindon police spokeswoman Alvina Kumar confirmed that officers had been called to a civil matter at the address.

Coldseal national contracts manager Barry Westwood insisted that the company was within its contractual rights to demand the signing of the document. The firm's southern region information director, David Wright, said the firm apologised for any inconvenience.

Barrie Hudson