A DISABLED pensioner has accused Darlington Borough Council of ineptitude following a “nightmarish” house refurbishment.

The authority asked 72-year-old Sean Kelly to move out of his council bungalow in June to allow for refurbishments including a bathroom and partial kitchen refit.

Mr Kelly said that moving out temporarily had been strenuous and hard work but that he believed it would be worth it to have an upgrade to his house.

However, upon moving back in, Mr Kelly says he was met with a series of problems that left him stressed and inconvenienced.

He claims that his new ‘wet room’ floor did not allow for water drainage, meaning a constant pool of water in the bathroom; that hot and cold taps were installed the wrong way around; that an extractor was removed from the bathroom, meaning odours and steam now linger; that a new toilet seat was not fitted correctly and almost caused him an “embarrassing accident”; that cupboard doors were installed wrongly and that light switches no longer corresponded with the correct lights.

Mr Kelly also claimed workers had unplugged his freezer and claimed the work carried out was “as inept and incompetent as to be almost unbelievable.”

He also says he was hit in the head when a newly installed shower curtain rail fell from its fittings.

Mr Kelly said: “Fortunately it is not heavy but at my age and my health, any bang on the head is likely to be dangerous.

“I worked in the building industry for 40 years and can honestly say I have never witnessed such a catalogue of blunders.

“This whole unsavoury business could well be mistaken as the rants of a cranky, disgruntled OAP but I assure you, it is not.”

Mr Kelly has penned a lengthy letter to the council asking for the problems to be addressed and said the poor standard of the work left him feeling disrespected.

A spokeswoman for Darlington Borough Council said: “We endeavour to ensure any work is carried out to the highest possible standards and on completion of this work we were not made aware of any problems.

“However, on receipt of the letter from the tenant, we did arrange for staff to visit the property and have been working with him to resolve the issues.”