Swindon pensioner finally moves home after community effort

The 70-year-old had lived inside the bungalow since the 1970s but struggled to ask for help after a leak ruined the property during the pandemic and forced her to go without heating or hot water for over a year.

In November, Patricia – who in previous articles has been referred to as ‘Mary’ to keep her anonymity – first hinted at the problem to her closest friend Janet Reynolds, and only then did the full extent of the disrepair become clear.

Patricia, with Sandra Kennelly, receives the keys to her home from Brendan O'Neill. (Image: Dave Cox)

Janet moved Pat into her home while Emerald Damp Specialists employee Brendan O’Neill led a DIY SOS-style project to rip out and repair the sodden floorboards and mouldy walls, install new wiring and heating, and remove rats from the kitchen.

Many businesses and kind strangers offered their time, materials, and services for free so that £126,000 worth of work was paid for by £16,000 of donations from a fundraiser set up by Sandra Kennelly.

On Saturday, Pat moved back into her Stratton home and met some of the team who carried out this immense revamp.

This is the heartwarming moment a Swindon pensioner returned to her home after a kindhearted team spent weeks removing dangerous black mould and repairing the property. pic.twitter.com/RHiSPii1sE

— Daniel Angelini (@Adver_Daniel) January 22, 2024

She said: “It’s beautiful, like a show home, I love the decorations and the laminate flooring, thank you all so much.

“Janet's been a rock to me. I started mentioning things to her and stopped inviting her in for a cup of tea, so she knew there was something serious.

“I was very nervous about coming home, but excited. I’m not used to people doing all this for me. I’m overwhelmed. How they got it done in that time, I do not know,

“It will be wonderful to have my friends round for a cup of tea now.”

All the furniture except the TV was unsalvageable, only parts of the bathroom remained the same, and the air in the home was so thick with rot that anyone fixing it up had to wear breathing masks.

Janet said: “It’s a very emotional day for her. She was nervous because she was walking into a house she didn’t recognise, but she was happy.

“She got double pneumonia and sepsis because of the mould but her breathing improved a lot while staying at mine and she never has to worry about that ever again.

“Brendan made all this happen, it's remarkable.”

Brendan O' Neil, Janet Reynolds, John Davis in Patricia's refurbished kitchen (Image: Dave Cox)

Brendan added: “It’s had its ups and downs, and been a lot of hard work, I’ve done some 24-hour shifts, but the change we’ve seen in just a few weeks is astounding.

“It’s easier when you have great people willing to turn up and help between shifts for their normal jobs. People came from Swindon, Devizes, Bristol, Birmingham, Cambridge, all over, to do a day here, often at short notice, it’s been brilliant.

“People selling furniture on Facebook donated it to us for free when they learned about Pat’s situation.

"It’s good to see her so happy after all this work.”