A PENSIONER has been reduced to sleeping on a blow-up mattress in his lounge after the ceiling in his bedroom caved in a month ago and still hasn’t been fixed.

Exasperated Clifford Collard, 80, and his wife Eileen, 73, are fuming it has taken so long to repair the 6ft-wide hole, which was caused by a burst water pipe in the loft.

The couple, who have lived in their home in Ganels Close, Billericay, for nearly 50 years, say that being displaced from the comfort of their bedroom, has affected their health.

The couple have been pleading with St Georges Community Housing for a month to fix the hole and say they have been “passed from pillar to post”.

Eileen said: “I’m sleeping in a single bed in the spare room, but Clifford has been sleeping on a blow-up bed in the lounge.

“We are not people who usually complain about things, but I am worried about my husband’s health. This is so frustrating.

“We can’t carry on like this. The bedroom is a no go area and parts of the roof are about to fall down. It’s dangerous.”

No one from St Georges Housing responded to our calls on Friday.

l We have been highlighting the plight of the Collards and other council houing tenants through our Stop the Rot campaign, which has been calling for better living conditions for residents across Basildon district.

If you have an issue for Stop the Rot you want us to raise, contact the newsdesk on 01268 469337.

You can also sign up to the Echo’s online petition to improve council housing at www.echo-news.co.uk/news/ stop_the_rot/form