Elderly woman left with flooded council home for two years

Denise Mannion, aged 71, who lives in a council property in Deerlands Mount Parson Cross, said she has been trying for more than two years to get the council to find a solution to the stagnant water in her home.

She said: “The smell of stagnant water is disgusting. I have been trying for more than two years to get this sorted to no avail.

“I have C.O.P.D arthritis and am an outpatient at Weston Park Hospital after having a cancer removed. I am desperately trying to get rehoused and not having any joy with this either.

“This situation is making my life unbearable. I don’t know what else to do apart from wait until the water level rises again and just jump in and drown, maybe that will stop the flow. I am worried that with all the rain the water is going to come up into the house.”

Last week Sheffield suffered extreme flooding following a month’s worth of rainfall in 24 hours which caused the water levels in her house to rise.

Contractors came out to pump the water out, which Ms Mannion said took around 45 minutes.

She said the water still stinks and she cannot cope with it much longer.

A spokesperson from the council’s repairs and maintanence service said: “We attended Mrs Mannion’s home as soon as we became aware of the problem and pumped out the water that had accumulated. We have now arranged for a specialist drainage contractor to investigate the source of the water as a matter of urgency and to carry out the required work to remedy the problem.”