A Basildon Council tenant was facing a five month wait for basic bathroom repairs due to delays caused by the pandemic.

Laura Stevens who lives in a council home in Gippeswyk Road first contacted the council for repairs in July of this year and was told she would have to wait two months for the work.

When a contacted repairman turned up at her house last week he claimed he would need longer than the allotted time to complete the work, and Ms Stevens found herself back on another waiting list until the end of November.

Following the Echo’s intervention, the council have re-booked the works for September 16 and 17.

The council claims the delays were caused by an overrun of works caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Mrs Stevens, 50, and her husband have lived at the property since May this year.

When they arrived at the home they were shocked to find the previous tenants had begun bathroom retiling works, but only finished half the job, stick a few new tiles over the old ones which had been painted over.

“Before I lived there, they done half the bathroom,” explained Laura. “So, they had stuck new tiles over old tiles and painted it and now I have flaky paint coming off into my bath.

“I waited two months for an appointment all the while I kept telling them it would be a longer job than the allotted four hours they had scheduled me for and they wouldn’t listen to me.”

She added: “When the contractor got here he said it would take two days and we had to book it in again, with the closest date in November which would leave me waiting five months for a repair.

“It felt like the council didn’t care and they were just sending me around in circles.”

When contacted by the Echo for an explanation, the council said it had rebooked the works for an earlier date.

A Basildon Council Spokesperson said: “We’re sorry that Ms Stevens has been experiencing issues at her property. Due to an overrun of works following the pandemic, some routine repairs have incurred delays and we are currently working hard on bringing these down as quickly as possible.

“We have now re-booked works for September 16 and 17 and a letter has been posted to the tenant to inform them of this.”