B&Q kitchen smashes mum's entire £4,000 Emma Bridgewater collection

Maria Kimble's beloved Emma Bridgewater plates were smashed after she claims her B&Q kitchen larder units 'collapsed'
Maria Kimble's beloved Emma Bridgewater plates were smashed after she claims her B&Q kitchen larder units 'collapsed' -Credit:Kennedy News and Media


A devastated mum claims her B&Q kitchen 'collapsed' - smashing her beloved £4,000 limited edition Emma Bridgewater plate collection and leaving her oven 'in bits'.

Maria Kimble says she woke up to a bang to discover her two kitchen larder cabinets had come away from the wall, taking the oven, the microwave and more than 100 plates and bowls with them. The 46-year-old and her husband had fitted the units into their kitchen 14 months earlier and were both distraught to find many sentimental and beloved items smashed to pieces.

The mum-of-three lost six platters, 20 dinner plates, 10 cereal bowls, half a dozen sandwich plates, serving bowls, egg cups and more, nearly all of which were limited edition. British ceramics producer Emma Bridgewater make all of their earthenware pottery in Stoke-on-Trent using traditional techniques, often with decoration that is hand-applied using sponges and brushes.

Photos appear to show her two £100 B&Q GoodHome Caraway Larder Cabinets collapsed and in pieces, ripping the electrics out of the wall and smashing everything that was in them. The stay-at-home mum was devastated to lose a beloved set featuring purple dahlias gifted from her husband and a blue lobster plate which was bought for her son in memory of a childhood pet crayfish.

Maria, who is a full-time carer for her autistic daughter, felt 'numb' seeing the limited edition crockery that her daughter ate from in pieces on the floor. B&Q said they were sorry to hear about the incident and said they were eager to instruct the independent Furniture & Home Improvement Ombudsman to carry out a investigation, at the company's own expense.

Maria, from Gosport, Hampshire, said: "It was a Saturday morning and at six o'clock we heard a bang. It was really windy that night so I thought one of the kitchen windows had blown in.

Maria Kimble's beloved Emma Bridgewater plates were smashed after she claims her B&Q kitchen larder units 'collapsed'
Maria Kimble's beloved Emma Bridgewater plates were smashed after she claims her B&Q kitchen larder units 'collapsed' -Credit:Kennedy News and Media

"My husband went downstairs and said 'you had better get down here'. It looked like somebody had grabbed the kitchen units and pulled them off the wall. All the electrics had been pulled out.

"The majority of my plates were smashed on the floor. It was a seven-year collection. I felt numb when I saw them smashed on the floor. I just thought 'oh my goodness, it's all gone'.

"Some of the dinner plates my husband bought me as a gift from Liberty. They were purple dahlias which meant quite a lot to me because I grow dahlias and show dahlias. My husband felt devastated too.

"They're sentimental. It's all a bit tragic. We bought my son a blue lobster plate because when he was little he had a pet blue crayfish, so that was in memory of him.

"My daughter has her own Emma Bridgewater pattern so that she knew it was hers and nobody else was going to use it but you can't get it anymore. It's all really personal. My beloved tomato platter smashed which I'm absolutely devastated about. You can't get those at all, I've tried everywhere."

Maria and her husband filled seven bags-for-life with debris from the kitchen and were left without anything to cook with for two weeks as the oven was 'in bits on the floor'. After inspecting the kitchen parts, Maria claims they discovered the chipboard of both larder units had 'disintegrated' which she speculates is what caused them to collapse.

Maria Kimble's kitchen larder units from B&Q which she claims 'collapsed'
Maria Kimble's kitchen larder units from B&Q which she claims 'collapsed' -Credit:Kennedy News and Media

Online the cabinet is advertised as having a 25-year guarantee yet Maria claims B&Q did not respond to her complaint. Maria said: "It was a big clean-up job. The oven was in bits on the floor.

"My husband laid all the kitchen parts out in the garden and it looked like the chipboard was really poor quality. It had disintegrated and just gave way and pulled it out of the wall.

"All of our electrics were hanging out. The cupboard doors all smashed too from the full force of the oven and the cupboard."

Maria has now refitted her kitchen with a larder unit and a small base unit from Ikea which she has turned into a tea-making station. Out of 100 damaged limited edition items, she has only been able to replace two but hopes to keep an eye out for more in the future to build up her crockery collection and even received a jug from Emma Bridgewater.

Maria said: "I've just got my kettle and a few bits and bobs there. It isn't finished, I still need to put my cupboard doors on. Emma Bridgewater sent me a beautiful jug with an inscription on it.

"It's a pink heart jug and it says 'when there are clouds in the sky you'll get by', which is really lovely of them. I'm hoping now to build my collection up over time. They have new collections throughout the year so I'll see what summer brings."

Maria Kimble's new Ikea kitchen units, including a little tea nook
Maria Kimble's new Ikea kitchen units, including a little tea nook -Credit:Kennedy News and Media

A B&Q spokesperson said: "Please pass on our apologies to Ms Kimble, we were very sorry to hear that the unit collapsed causing the loss of her Emma Bridgewater plate collection. We have checked our records, however, based on the information you have provided, we have been unable to find any record of contact from Ms Kimble with our Customer Services team.

"We are sure that you will appreciate that it is not possible to determine what has caused the issue based on the photographs provided, therefore, we would like to instruct an independent expert from The Furniture & Home Improvement Ombudsman, at our cost, to visit Ms Kimble's property at a mutually agreeable date and time to carry out a thorough inspection of the unit etc and provide us with their expert opinion as to what has caused the issues she has experienced.

"Once the visit has taken place, we will be provided with a report detailing their findings and be in a position to progress the matter further."