A disgusted Lee pensioner says she was told to wash herself in the sink after her housing association refused to fix a blockage in her wetroom for a whole month.

Jacqueline Bormond, 91, noticed the problem as she used the shower in her Burnt Ash Hill flat on Friday (August 15) and the water quickly began to rise inside the wetroom.

But she was shocked to be told by landlord Affinity Sutton that nobody would be able to fix the problem until next month and in the meantime she would need to use the wash basin instead.

Ms Bormond spoke to News Shopper after a concerned neighbour got in touch with the paper to say he was worried she could end up slipping and hurting herself.

She explained: "I knew it was coming in the wetroom because the water wasn't flowing away properly. 

"This morning, when I had a shower, it started to come right to the door and almost to the carpet in the hall. I had to turn it off quickly.

"I rang the Thames Water people and told them and they were very helpful. They were wonderful."

The company quickly sent someone round to examine the problem but they told her there was a blockage between her shower and drain which would require action from the housing association.

But the response she said she got from Affinity Sutton could not have been more different from the water company's.

She explained: "I rang Affinity Sutton and told them about it and all they could give me was the date of September 11. So that means I can't have a shower for a month and that's disgraceful isn't it."

Ms Bormond, a retired office worker and poet who once penned verse for the Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign, went on: "So I rang back again to speak to somebody in authority at Affinity Sutton.

"They said you have to wash in the basin instead.

"I don't think very much of that. In this day and age I shouldn't have to do that."

A spokeswoman for Affinity Sutton said: "We would like to offer our apologies to Mrs Bormond for the inconvenience she has been experiencing.

"We are investigating the length of time she was given to wait for a repair appointment and can confirm that we have arranged a new appointment to resolve the issue for tomorrow (August 19).”