A RESIDENT has said she has been forced to throw away many of her belongings, including clothes, handbags and even her bed because of a faulty water pipe.

Jackie Lofting, 44, said there was mould growing in every room in her flat as a result of the leak.

The mother-of-two says she is desperate for something to be done about the pipe, which runs underneath her two-bedroom flat in Hamlet Drive, Greenstead, Colchester, which has been leaking water into her home and garden for months.

She said: “My mum bought me a new cream carpet for my bedroom, which I had to throw away because it got so damp.

“I was keeping a collection of handbags in a cupboard, including a really special bag I got for my birthday from my boyfriend, which all had to be thrown away because they had gone mouldy.

“My 14-year-old daughter suffers from croup so its just all so disheartening.”

Colchester councillor Tim Young said Anglian Water’s failure to fix the faulty pipe was “unacceptable”.

He said: “The amount of time these residents have had to wait to get this problem fixed is ridiculous.

“Colchester Borough Homes, which owns the properties, has been calling Anglian Water every day for the past two, maybe even three months.

“It has had a terrible impact on these residents’ living conditions and they need it fixed as soon as possible.

“It is totally unacceptable.”

Sara Rowland, spokeswoman for Anglian Water, said there had been a delay in getting paperwork signed in order to carry out the work.

She said: “This leak is on a privately-owned supply pipe and technically it is up to the property owner to get it repaired.

“But because at Anglian Water we want to keep our leakage rate as low as possible and go that extra mile to help our customers not waste water, we give each household one free repair of their pipe.”

She added: “Before we do the repair we need to make sure everyone is happy for us to do this and now that we have everyone’s agreement, the repair will be done on Wednesday.”