A new purpose-built house for a four-year-old disabled boy has so many defects, the family will be forced to move out for six months.

Karen and Ian Newton, parents of wheelchair-bound Joshua, have been told to rent a house while a staggering 176 repairs are carried out to their dream home in Lynton Road, Hadleigh.

The youngster suffers from spinal muscular atrophy which affects his muscles and leaves him prone to infections and breathing difficulties. One of the effects is that he is unable to walk.

Faults at the home include door frames so crooked that doors will not shut, problems with the drains, electrics and gas supply, and poor rendering which means rainwater runs directly into the brickwork.

The last straw was the wrong type of concrete on the floor which means the whole lot has to be relaid.

The house was built by A.R. Builders on Canvey and the full extent of the faults came to light during an inspection by the National House Building Council.

The NHBC has now taken the unusual step of bringing in its own contractors to put right the extensive problems and intends to bill the Canvey builder for the cost.

Until the contractors are finished at the Newton's home, A.R. Builders will not be able to have any other property officially passed by the NHBC.

Tony Rosher, owner of A.R.Builders, said he was aware of the faults outlined by the NHBC and that he had been doing his best to work on the repairs. However, Mrs Newton, 36, said the builders had made a total mess of things.

She said: "The floor in all the rooms is breaking up to such an extent that we have holes everywhere. We have no choice but to move out while the house is literally gutted."

An appeal by This Is Essex partner paper the Echo for Joshua - a pupil at Hadleigh Infants School - is on course to raise £6,000 to pay for a new specially-adapted bathroom with an electric toilet, dipped floors and a new shower. But that cannot go ahead until the house is sorted out.

Karen said: "People have been so generous and we are ready to go ahead but nothing can happen for months."

The family has also been hard-pushed to find suitable accommodation on a short-term lease.

Karen said: "When we ask letting agents for a spacious bungalow with wheelchair access, they just laugh. The move is really going to upset Joshua.

"He has a hydrotherapy pool to help with his exercises fitted in the back garden which he will not be able to use for months. The idea of the house was that nowhere was off-limits and he was fully interactive with the family." A.R. Builders who constructed Jamie Newton's home said they believed most of the faults had been fixed at the home.

Mr Rosher of the Canvey-based firm said: "The majority of the problems came from the cracks on the floor. I thought most of the faults had been fixed.

"I had made arrangements with the customers to carry out the rest of the repairs but then the NHBC stepped in and said they would do them.

"I would have done it two months ago but the owners put me off because they were going on holiday.

"We don't usually have problems like this. I know there were lots of faults but most of them were the flooring and the roughness of the skirting boards in every room which were entered as faults individually."

However, Adrian Murrell from the NHBC, said the long list of faults had come to light during a routine inspection of the building process.

He said: "The builders, A.R. Builders and Decorators, were informed of the areas where work was required.

"However, the builder has been unable to carry out this work in time and we have decided to bring in our own contractors to do it. We will then seek redress from the builder for the cost.

"This is an unusual step under these circumstances but because of the family's predicament, we are making an exception. As soon as the family has found suitable alternative accommodation, which they will not have to pay for, this work will start."

He added: "A.R. Builders is registered with the NHBC and it is the first time the company has been brought to our attention.

"To register with us a company undergoes financial and technical vetting to make sure it has the ability to build homes which are up to scratch.

"This property has not performed to our standards. We have the power to remove builders from the register if they are consistently under-performing and we will be monitoring the situation."

Mr Murrell also said that the final inspection on a newly built house - known as the Build Mark - was being frozen for all properties being worked on by A.R. Builders.

The freeze is expected to affect one plot of land where work has not yet started in Scrub Lane, Hadleigh, and two more plots in Henson Avenue on Canvey.

Forced to move out - Joshua Newton will not be able to live in his dream home for six months

Picture: ROBIN WOOSEY

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