Yahoo News Man with terminal cancer frustrated by slow progress on fixing 'dangerous' hole in garden
A Grimsby man living with terminal cancer said he has been waiting for more than 50 days for a hole in his garden to be repaired after emergency works to fix a leak.
Jim Lister, 70, and his wife Dawn Lister, 75, used to welcome their great-grandchildren to their Grimsby home but no longer can. Jim said the deep hole left in the garden - covered with a slab of plywood - had made it too unsafe.
He noticed a leak on September 21 and reported it to Anglian Water who attended and said its location within the property boundary meant it was the responsibility of Jim's landlord, the housing association Lincolnshire Housing Partnership (LHP).
LHP sent over contractors on the same day to dig up the garden and repair the leak, but Jim said he has been waiting ever since for the hole to be filled in. Jim said: "The two guys that came to fix the leak were brilliant. They spent the Saturday and Sunday digging it out and fixing the leak.
"But that was the end of the story. They said to me 'It needs covering over within five days to protect the pipe'. It's an enormous hole that they dug. We are on 55 days now and I haven't seen anybody. I haven't even had a phone call from LHP."
Jim has paid for somebody to remove the rubble from the driveway so he can park his car. He said he understands the housing association might not be able to do full landscaping, but he just wants his garden safe and usable again.
"I've got so many great-grandchildren and I've had to stop them coming round. There's not even a proper cover on it [the hole] there's just a piece of wood over it. It's so dangerous. We can't go in the rear garden whatsoever. With the medical situation I've got... anything could happen before I see anybody."
Jim said he had sent multiple emails to LHP but always received the same reply, advising him they'd be in touch with a date for repairs in the future.
He added: "I understand if they can't landscape the garden. Who cares about that? But just make it safe."
Jim said he felt like the bare minimum would be to fill in the hole and level out the garden. Since Grimsby Live contacted LHP, the housing association has been in touch with Jim and sent a contractor to his home.
In a statement, LHP said: "We are aware of the situation regarding Mr Lister’s garden and understand his frustration with this delay. The initial leak was repaired promptly, however, additional work was required with a third-party contractor to return Mr Lister’s garden to a good standard.
"Unfortunately, a delay with our contractor has meant this work has not yet been carried out. Our contractor has attended the property today and the work will be started as quickly as possible.
"We will be in direct communication with Mr Lister to provide updates and a timeline for completion. We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused and appreciate Mr Lister's patience as we work to rectify the situation.”
