An Andover mum-of-three has said she was worried she or her children could have been hurt after a housing association left a leaking water tank for four days.

Jane Felton’s water tank at her home on Romans Way developed a leak on Sunday, April 11, with water leaking down the stairs and through the ceiling. After a call to her housing provider, Stonewater, an engineer sent by them said he “couldn’t fix the leak” and instead tried to duct tape the problem shut.

“I was worried the ceiling is going to come through and hurt me or one of my kids,” she said. “Everything was getting ruined”.

Following an enquiry by the Advertiser, Stonewater said that an engineer had now conducted a full repair and apologised for the leak.

The issue started on Sunday, April 11, when the water tank began leaking early in the morning.

“I’ve had an ongoing leak,” Jane said. “It’s not the first time they’ve been out to sort it.”

She reported the leak to Stonewater’s out of hours number, with an engineer attending on April 12. However, he wasn’t able to fix the issue.

“They sent someone out on Monday morning, but he said he couldn’t do the job as he didn’t get a ticket so couldn’t fix the leak.

All he did was put a bit of duct tape around the leak which clearly didn’t work and the leak got worse.”

She said that renewed calls to Stonewater told her she was “top of the list”, but an engineer did not attend.

Her father told the Advertiser that the situation was “ridiculous”.

“It seems to me as if they were fobbing her off,” he said. “Who in their right mind would duct tape a pipe?”

As the leak developed, the water began to damage Jane’s possessions.

“The cupboard is literally mouldy,” she said, “and it’s not the first time it’s happened. I’ve had to bin three black bags full of bedding because it’s gone mouldy. I’ve managed to save some.”

The 36-year-old’s water was also turned off, leaving her having to either go without water, or risk turning it on for basic necessities.

“I’ve switched the taps on when we need water as I have three kids,” she said, “they all need baths. My mum and dad only live five minutes away but it’s not fair to drag them over there to have a bath and come back in the cold, and there’s obviously Covid risks too.”

The water has also been affecting the structure of the house, which she is worried will end up hurting one of her children, who are Ryan, Skye and Kara.

“I was worried the ceiling is going to come through and hurt me or one of my kids,” she said. “Everything was getting ruined.

“It’s just ruined a lot of my stuff and I’m a single mum, I can’t keep replacing all this stuff.”

Following an enquiry by the Advertiser, a spokesperson for Stonewater said that an engineer had been dispatched and sorted the leak.

They said: “We are sorry that Ms Fenton has experienced a leak in her home and that she was disappointed with how she was kept informed about the progress of the repair.

“Following Ms Fenton’s call to our out of hours repairs number on Sunday April 11 to report the leak, an emergency contractor was instructed to visit the property that day and assess the repair.

“Upon inspection our contractor was able to carry out a temporary repair to prevent the leak from causing further damage but reported that additional follow on works were required to carry out a full repair. This was carried out and completed on April 14.”