AN ELDERLY woman said she has had trouble sleeping due to the stress caused by blocked drains in her Torus property.

Eileen Lawton, 79, has lived in her Torus property on Hayfield Way, Clock Face, for the past eleven years, where for the most part, any problems have been quickly resolved.

However, as ongoing issues with her drains have not been appropriately addressed, this has led to a worsening situation where the drains are almost completely blocked and at times have exploded.

Living alone at 79-years-old, this has meant that Eileen has been unable to use the toilet properly for almost four months as the toilet water overflows at almost every flush.

READ > Bench built in memory of much-loved man becomes official 'Happy to Chat' space

'Situation getting worse and worse'

Eileen said: "The situation has just been getting worse and worse; I have had multiple contractors out coming out but the problem has not been resolved for months.

"I only have one toilet in the house and because the drains are so blocked, I can't use or flush it. The drains are constantly leaking and have even exploded at times.

"It's disgusting and it's not something I should be putting up with at my age. I'm not sleeping because this is all I'm worrying about."

Investigation underway while responsibility disputed

Both Torus and United Utilities, who are responsible for the drains leading away from the property, are aware of the problems facing Mrs Lawton and confirmed they are conducting a joint investigation in order to resolve the situation.

However, the issue looks to have been prolonged as both companies claimed that responsibility lay with the opposite party.

Eileen added that while Torus has provided her with a replacement toilet facility, due to her age and mobility, this has proven to be unusable.

More recent investigations between Torus and United Utilities have concluded that the issue is due to a fault in Torus' private pipework. The housing association is said to have accepted liability and committed to fixing the problem as soon as possible.

Statement from Torus and United Utilities

Torus Head of Maintenance, Kevin Clifford said: “We have apologised to the customer for the time it is taking to resolve this situation and thanked them for their patience.

"Since the matter was reported to us, we have conducted assessments to find out what the cause of the issue could be. During this time, we have ensured the customer has not been left without facilities and have attended regularly with our drainage specialists to remove any blockage, in the drains we have access to.

“Our investigation into the issue has ascertained that there is a problem with the drains leading away from the property, which are the responsibility of United Utilities (UU).

“We are working closely with UU and have arranged to meet their operatives at the property next week, to enable them to determine the exact cause of the problem and to arrange a repair.”

A United Utilities spokesperson added: “We are sorry to hear of the issues that Mrs Lawton is facing.  Our teams have visited the property on three occasions and found that the issue relates to private pipework, which is the responsibility of Torus.

“However, we are keen to help Mrs Lawton get a resolution to this matter and have offered to meet Torus at the property again to carry out a joint investigation.”