IT'S no wonder Hyndburn Council can spout about how much they have saved (LET, February 18).

When I moved into this bungalow, it cost roughly £300 to make a back garden out of a wilderness. I also put new cupboards in the kitchen at a cost of nearly £200 and new worktops costing £150 as well as tiling three of the walls.

Then I found out what kind of landlord I had in the Council.

On May 14, 1996, a contract plumber came and fitted a new cylinder. On June 19, I reported a leak in the loft. The next day a plumber came and fixed it.

On June 27, I reported the mess the leak had made on the kitchen wall. On July 5, I was told by Coun Jack Grime to write to the Works Department - which I did the following day.

On July 15 , a council representative came to inspect the damage. On November 4, I spoke to a Mr Colson at the council about the damage.

On April 28, 1997, I reported woodworm in a window frame and the following day reminded them of the kitchen damage caused almost a year earlier. On May 2, I waited in all day for an invisible council representative to call. On the 14th the immersion heater was wired up at last and on June 23, a council workman came and renewed the putty on the woodworm-infested window.

On November 11, a gas fitter called and condemned the gas fire. Five days later, the council renewed the fire and back boiler. On December 12, I phoned the council for a leaflet about the timer clock and was told someone would call with one - I am still waiting.

The first day after the Christmas holiday, I reported the need for repairs to the front door and a window and also broken roof tiles.

On February 18 a council representative came and told me they would renew the front door, but I would have to wait 18 months and, as for the tiles, they couldn't renew them as they were so brittle, he wasn't going to take a chance on breaking more! No wonder they can brag about saving money.

R SCHOFIELD, Buckingham Grove, Church.

FOOTNOTE: A Hyndburn Council spokeswoman said: "Hyndburn Council, like all local authorities, operates a priority scheme for council house repairs, and every housing repair reported to the council by Mr Schofield has been carried out within the time allowed for that type of maintenance. While we would like to be able to treat every request as an emergency, there is obviously a limited budget for housing repairs."

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