A BASINGSTOKE resident has been left fearing the worst after the fire alarms in her home have been disconnected for more than six months following work carried out by her housing association. 

In March part of the ceiling in Natalie Cowburn's house collapsed due to a fault with her boiler which caused a leak. 

The 53-year-old, who lives in Chivers Close, South Ham, contacted Clarion Housing which visited her home to carry out the work, which needed some of the electrics and fire alarms disconnected. 

READ MORE: Housing association resident left feeling 'degraded' with no hot water for days

Six months on Natalie says that the fire alarms have not been reconnected and she has been left without lights on the first floor of her home - including in the upstairs toilet, which is a problem for Natalie as she lives with a stoma. 

The mother contacted Clarion in July to get the problem with the lights and fire alarms sorted but has been back and forth with the housing association since in an effort to get the works completed and electrics back on.

Natalie said the experience had been detrimental to her health, adding: "It's been a real challenge, with my stoma I sometimes need to get up and make my way to the toilet at night, but I can't use the upstairs bathroom as the light doesn't work.

"Instead I've been struggling down the stairs in the dark for an issue which I would not expect to continue for as long as it has."

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In May last year, a fire started in the kitchen of a house in Chivers Close, which caused major damage to the home. 

Natalie said: "Imagine we had a fire like that in our property now during the night - we'd have no idea about it, we'd have no way of being alerted to the issue.

"I feel like I'm banging my head against a wall just trying to get something done. Having the fire alarm and lights working is a necessity for our safety and is currently giving us all constant worry. It's so draining to have to fight and fight for the basics - these housing associations just don't care."

A spokesperson for Clarion Housing said: “An appointment has been arranged for tomorrow for operatives to finish the work required. This has taken longer than our resident has the right to expect, and we are reviewing what went wrong here so that we can prevent it in the future. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience they have experienced.”