A FAMILY of seven say a housing association has left them without adequate sanitation after a cistern came loose from the wall and smashed their toilet.

Anthony Longworth claims he called Bolton at Home about the incident but the plumber – whom he says was four hours late – was unable to fix the toilet as he did not have the necessary parts.

Mr Longworth, wife Laura and their five children were provided with a chemical toilet, but are still waiting for Bolton at Home to replace it.

Mr Longworth, whose youngest child, Purdey, is 12 months old, says his family also had no heating or water while waiting for the plumber to arrive.

But he says the continuing lack of proper sanitary facilities for his family is his overriding concern.

The father-of-five said: “My concern is the germs. We stay hygienic because luckily we are clean freaks, but if not we would be in trouble.
“Everyone know faeces carries more bacteria than anything. It’s the bacteria side of it I’m worried about.”

He continued: “I think it’s disgusting, I’m not best pleased.
“Laura suffers from anxiety and depression, as you can imagine, she isn’t coping well and the kids aren’t coping either.”

Mr Longworth says he now regrets ever moving into the house. He said: ”I was sat downstairs when I heard a massive bang, I ran upstairs to find water spewing out everywhere.

"The cistern had fallen off the bracket, it couldn’t take its weight, fell off and smashed the toilet. When I moved into this property they told me it was safe. What if one of my kids had been sitting there? They are only young babies, what if that had hit them?”

Describing the damage caused to the property he added “It’s bad. The water has gone out from the toilet on to the carpet on the landing and into my laptop which was in a bag.

“It should have had two brackets but it only had one. I think they misplaced one of the brackets and not fixed it. The plaster around it is all soft.”

A Bolton at Home spokesperson said: “We were sorry to hear about this and understand it has been a difficult situation for the family. We provided them with a temporary chemical toilet, which we have also offered to empty, ahead of fixing the toilet this Saturday.

“As we investigate the cause, we can reassure all our customers that their health and safety is our highest priority and we would not leave a household without the use of a toilet.”