AN 88-year-old woman was left with water dripping onto her bed after a leading house builder fixed her leaking ceiling…by putting buckets in the roof. Her son Adam Renwick contacted The Hunts Post after discovering how Bovis Homes had used buckets to tr

AN 88-year-old woman was left with water dripping onto her bed after a leading house builder 'fixed' her leaking ceiling...by putting buckets in the roof.

Her son Adam Renwick contacted The Hunts Post after discovering how Bovis Homes had used buckets to try to prevent water leaking in to his mother's flat.

Henrietta Renwick bought a top-floor retirement flat at the award-winning Darwin Manor in Jeavons Lane, Cambourne, in the summer on the condition that the leaking roof was fixed.

Mr Renwick said Bovis claimed the repair work had been carried out so the purchase went ahead.

However, problems with leaks started in February with water dripping into her sitting room and bedroom.

Mr Renwick went to investigate the leak and found buckets had been put in the roof space and were overflowing.

"I couldn't believe what I was seeing - it was laughable," said Mr Renwick. "Bovis told us they had fixed it but they clearly hadn't."

Mr Renwick added: "My mother is understandably very upset.

"She is worried that one day the roof will come crumbling down on top of her. The company has shown scant regard for my mother's health.

"When there is heavy rain the water cascades through the ceiling and on to my mother's bed.

"On one occasion she was forced to push the bed to the other side of the room to avoid the leaking ceiling."

Mr Renwick said since February he has contacted Bovis on more than seven occasions, but still the leak had still not been fixed.

"Bovis keep telling us it is in the hands of the contractors who are too busy to come and fix it," he said.

He added that one of the reasons his mother had chosen that home was because it was voted one of the best retirement developments in Cambridgeshire in a national newspaper.

Mr Renwick added: "I never expected my mother to be treated like this - it's an outrage."

Yesterday (Tuesday), the day after The Hunts Post contacted Bovis, workmen were seen on the roof investigating the leak.

A spokesman for Bovis said the work had revealed that the roof joints had not been "adequately sealed".

She added that the roof contractors were due to have the roof fixed by tomorrow (Thursday).

Bovis also issued an apology to the Renwicks.

"We are extremely sorry for the distress and inconvenience that has been caused to Mrs Renwick as a result of a problem with this particular area of flat roof at Darwin Manor.

"We accept that initial remedial works have proved far from satisfactory and we can only apologise for the course of events.

"We did offer to re-house Mrs Renwick in the guest suite at Darwin Manor, but understandably she preferred to stay in her own apartment, so we prepared her spare bedroom for her and ensured she was comfortable. Had this not been acceptable to Mrs Renwick we would willingly have booked her into a nearby hotel."

Bovis has offered to replace Mrs Renwick's water damaged bed and covers and said it was "more than willing to discuss options to help address some of the inconvenience caused".