A DIY company has come under fire from an elderly Darlington couple – after they were forced to hold their broken shower door in place for each other every time they use it.

Tom and Victoria Lund criticised Wickes after months of being 'fobbed off' over requests for the faulty shower door to be fixed.

They bought a £250 walk-in shower 18 months ago after Mr Lund, 80, found it increasingly difficult to use a bath.

In September, the shower door came off its rails – a recurring problem identified by the retailer.

To avoid damaging their bathroom, Mr and Mrs Lund resorted to holding the door in place for each other – an unsustainable position for the couple, who struggle with ill health.

The couple complained repeatedly to Wickes and begged them to remedy the problem, only to be told that any fix would have to wait for replacement parts from China.

Wickes apologised to Mr and Mrs Lund, after The Northern Echo contacted the company on the couple's behalf.

It has pledged to work more closely with suppliers when product improvements are needed, in order to reduce waiting times for customers.

A replacement part was couriered to the couple's home on Thursday (November 13) afternoon.

Although pleased to have received the component, Mrs Lund is adamant she will not buy anything from Wickes in future.

The 72-year-old said: "From September we’ve been told that the parts are coming – we were told we’d have them in September, then by the end of October.

"They sent a courier all the way from Northampton on Thursday with the replacement wheels.

"He said we must have shouted loudly to get these and I think it is because The Northern Echo got involved.

Mrs Lund added: "It’s bad customer service – never again will I buy anything from Wickes."

Gordon Mackenzie, Wickes' head of customer service, said: "We have seen this problem with the runners before, and we went back to manufacturer six months ago and asked them to upgrade the specifications.

"The manufacturer agreed that there will be no more plastic runners, but metal runners in these showers, and have sent us 7,000 of these, which we only received this week.

"Wickes is in the process of contacting everyone who bought these shower enclosures and will send the replacement runners out to them.

"We sincerely apologise to Mr and Mrs Lund for the inconvenience caused."