A mum and her four children were left without a flushing toilet in their Peckham home for nearly a month after the council’s repair team told her it was ‘not an emergency’.
Maryanne Vanson contacted the News last Wednesday after reporting a leaking waste pipe to the council after three weeks of not being able to flush the only toilet in her council house.
The Wilmot Close resident, who is mum to Hope aged six, Saran, five, Cody, three, and a baby of sixteen months, had reported the broken flush several times and was stuck having to pour water into the toilet bowl to manually flush.
She said: “It has been a nightmare as I have to keep getting bowls of water down the toilet, which hurts my bad shoulder.
“With kids they all need to go to the toilet at the same time – which makes it harder to get rid.”
After the News put in an enquiry, councillor Stephanie Cryan, cabinet member for housing management and modernisation said: “I understand that a new cistern has already been fitted.
“However, this has taken much longer than it should have done to remedy and I sincerely apologise to Mrs Vanson.
“I agree that this isn’t acceptable, especially for a family with young children, and we are expecting improvements to our service after it comes in-house next month.”