RESIDENTS who feared they were living in unsafe conditions have banded together to tackle their security problems.

Landlords of Aspinall Court, Chorley New Road, were accused of failing to provide adequate care and clean premises for people living in the sheltered housing.

And Places for People was criticised for reducing the number of welfare calls to the Horwich flats, while a disabled toilet was left in filthy conditions after a specialist cleaner was required to handle the mess.

READ MORE: 'Nightmare' of dirty toilets, broken washing machines and no security at elderly and disabled people's homes, residents claim

A broken-down washing machine was also not replaced for more than a week.

After sharing their concerns with The Bolton News, a cleaning crew was brought in to tackle the toilet and the washing machine was fixed.

However, a group of residents has decided to solve the security problems itself and pay a private company to carry out safety calls.

Aspinall Court resident Carole Hill, aged 72, said: “We decided to pay for our own system. We get two calls a day and even though we had to go private, it has paid off.

“They did finally send someone in to deep clean the toilet though it took them four days to do it.”

Residents had originally enjoyed individual calls five days a week to check on their welfare.

In April it was cut back to one day a week, with residents claiming at one point they went without a call for eight days.

They were also promised an electrical monitoring system which can detect when someone collapses or is injured, but after months of delays they contacted MP Chris Green to push for a solution to the problems.

The system is now due to be installed from April 2018.

Mr Green said: “When residents contacted me about Aspinall Court I was very concerned to hear that they were being left without security, and I contacted Places for People to find out what it was doing to ensure the safety of residents.

“I have been assured that the electrical monitoring scheme is being prioritised for inclusion in the 2018/19 programme.

“It is important that elderly and vulnerable people living in sheltered accommodation are cared for properly and where this is not happening I will make every effort to challenge this.”

Places for People had offered to increase calls again following complaints but at a meeting at the flats, residents said they would continue to use the new private-funded service.

A spokesman for for the company said they had no objections to the residents using a private calls service and the enhanced personal alarm service would be

provided next year as part of an ongoing five-year investment programme.

They added: “The existing system will be upgraded to incorporate a motion sensor in the hallway of each flat, which picks up movement during a specified time period each morning.

“Detected movement is displayed to staff in our Alarms Response Centre, indicating the resident is safe and well. If no movement is detected, immediate investigations will begin to establish whether there is an issue.This service will be provided without any additional cost to residents.”