My door has been jammed for a YEAR… it could crush my son – but my housing association still hasn’t bought me a new one

A MUM fears a broken door in her home which has been jammed for a year could crush her son to death.

Miranda Tredinnick, who lives in a house owned by Sovereign Housing, in Odd Down, Bath, says she is struggling to close her back door despite it being repaired four or five times previously.

It has currently been left with only one hinge securing it to the frame.

Her son Ace, 8, is autistic and needs access to the back garden every day which has left Miranda in a predicament, particularly during the Easter holidays when he was at home all day.

Approximately a year ago the door broke but at the time the family just had trouble closing it as the top hinge had warped and the door had fallen out of alignment.

Then at around Christmas time, the door wouldn’t shut at all.

Miranda told : “It was very cold so I had to call the emergency repair helpline. I waited a few hours and nobody came, so I rang back and they said someone was coming, but still, no one came.

"That night I had to tape the shower curtain up against the door, but it wasn’t secure. The next morning they said they didn’t realise it was an emergency."

When the next time looked as if it was about to break, she called Sovereign Housing who sent round a housing manager to look at it.

He said he agreed it was “pretty useless,” Miranda claimed, and said it looked like a new back door was needed.

Miranda said: "After confirming that the door does need replacing he sent someone out to take measurements and give them a quote for how much it would cost. That guy said he would submit his quote and that it would be up to Sovereign whether they accepted it."

The mum added she was told it could take “months” for the new door to be approved.

Then on April 7 two men arrived at her house and said they were there to “repair” the existing door.

She said: "Two blokes turned up and I have never heard anything like it. They said they were there to replace the hinges in the back door but they ‘didn’t have any hinges’ because ‘nobody had ordered any’.

“I said ‘I thought I was getting a new back door’ and they started to leave, so I said ‘no, no, at least try to fix it now you’re here’. So they took out the middle hinge and threw away the top hinge which was warped.

"Then they put the middle hinge in the top of the door. That was great because the door opened and closed properly again.”

But Miranda’s joy was only short-lived as just “a couple of hours later” the door dropped again.

HINGE 'COMPLETELY CRACKED'

When she went to shut the door later that night the hinge was “completely cracked” and she called the emergency repair line again.

Sovereign sent out another man to secure the door - which is the only requirement in emergency cases.

He removed the top hinge, which had previously been in the middle of the door, leaving the door with just one hinge at the bottom.

As he was leaving, Miranda claims he said he would be back first thing in the morning but he never turned up.

When she phoned Sovereign again they told her no one was coming and she would have to make a new appointment.

DOOR SUPPORTED BY PAVING SLABS

Now, to get the door open, Miranda says it has to be physically lifted and it is currently balanced on one hinge and supported by some paving slabs.

Miranda said: "But if Ace runs into it, I'm worried that it could fall off completely and kill him. I'm completely stuck, it's not fair to leave us like this.”

She said Sovereign had sent out a member of its team on April 12 to repair the door, but she did not hear the doorbell ring when he arrived at 8.14am.

When she realised what had happened, she rang the housing provider “straight away” to apologise.

She asked if he could come back but was told there were no more appointments until June.

Simon Carter, Operations Director at Sovereign, said: "We’re sorry that it has taken longer than we’d have liked to attend to Ms Tredinnick’s back door and it’s clear from our investigations that there was a breakdown in internal communications.

"This has meant that we missed the opportunity to repair Ms Tredinnick’s door at an earlier stage.

"We have now been to her home and repaired her existing door to ensure that it’s safe and secure. We have also agreed with Ms Tredinnick that we will replace this door with a sliding door which we understand will better suit her family’s needs.

"We have apologised for the delay in ordering the new door and will keep Ms Tredinnick updated with progress and when known, an installation date."