AN ELDERLY woman was expected to carry buckets of water up the stairs after B&Q fitters left her without a toilet.

Sheila Acton, a 77-year-old of Whitehaven, who has arthritis and has undergone two knee replacements, said she was physically unable to carry the buckets.

After Mrs Acton went to the company's store in Workington to buy a new bathroom, fitters had not attended on the appointed day so she called to see what was going on.

The Springfield Road resident was told that the fitters could not make it out that day and there would be a delay of a few days.

When the workmen eventually arrived over two-and-a-half late on the rescheduled day, which the company blamed on traffic, they did not have a toilet or a wash basin.

Mrs Acton went back to the store and was told that she had not paid for a toilet or a wash basin, but when staff searched the warehouse, they found both items with her name on.

"I am only a women of limited means, so I knew exactly what I had paid for," said Mrs Acton. "In the end, they accepted the error." 

But, Mrs Acton said that when the workmen came back to fit the toilet, they left at 4pm on the Friday. 

"They told me that the toilet wasn't going to be fully working but that I could still use it," said Mrs Acton. "So I went upstairs and saw that there was no running water and two black buckets next to the toilet.

"They expected me to carry buckets of water up the stairs in my condition. When I called B&Q, they told me that this was normal.

"I had to move to my brother's house for the weekend. It's only a one-hour job, so I don't understand why they left early on Friday and left me without a toilet." 

She has since been visited by a complaints officer from the company who apologised.

A B&Q spokeswoman said: “We apologise for the inconvenience caused to Ms Acton. Once we realised that the temporary arrangement wasn’t suitable for her, we offered to cover the cost of alternative accommodation until the toilet facility was fully working. The installation will be completed this week and we will remain in contact with the customer throughout.”