A DISABLED woman says she’s trapped in her own home after a council built a fence around her home.
Bungling workers fitted a new garden gate for Jayne Kustra but it is too narrow for her mobility scooter.
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Jayne, from Swindon, Wiltshire, said the distressing mistake was causing her “serious upset” and that council bosses had taken too long to act.
The 63-year-old suffers from osteoarthritis, a condition that causes painful joints making it difficult to walk even short distances.
She revealed the new gate had left her unable to drive her scooter out of her garden without help – effectively trapping her in her own home.
Jayne told The Sun Online: “Council workmen came round to put a new gate in and fix the fence on February 7.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lovely fence. But the gate’s so narrow that it’s really awkward to get my mobility scooter through.
“I have to ask a friend to help me lift the back of the scooter and swivel it around to get it out. I don’t have the strength to lift it myself.”
Jayne, who lives alone, said a council inspector arrived at her house a week after the work was carried out and agreed a wider gate would be installed straight away.
But she then heard nothing back from Swindon Borough Council until February 23, when a letter arrived promising to complete the work on April 4.
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Angered by the delay, Jayne contacted her local newspaper who ran the story.
She’s since received a phone call saying that “due to a cancellation of another job” a new gate can be fitted on March 10.
Jayne said: “I kept trying to ring the inspector but they just ignored me before sending out a letter telling me they’d fix the issue on April 4.
“It shouldn’t have taken so long to sort this out – it’s been really difficult. I can walk at a steady pace with my walking stick but I can’t go big distances because of the osteoarthritis so I have to rely on my mobility scooter.”
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