Pensioner’s pals raise thousands to refurbish mouldy rat-ridden flat | UK News

A frail pensioner’s bungalow was riddled with potentially deadly mould and rats – until her friends stepped in to help. 

Janet Reynolds, a 44-year-old chef from Swindon, had looked forward to meeting up with an elderly colleague, who declined to be named for this story, every Thursday for more than 20 years. 

That is until the pandemic struck the UK in March 2020, after which her friend stopped allowing her to visit the house. 

Four weeks ago, the pair met up for a cup of tea, which was when the pensioner asked Janet to lend a hand cleaning up the bungalow. 

Janet of course said yes, only to be ‘horrified’ by what she found inside. 

The walls and furniture, as well as all of her friend’s possessions, were covered in a heavy layer of potentially deadly mould. 

Janet said: ‘The house was covered in thick, black mould – it was horrendous. I could barely be in there myself.’

She went on: ‘I’ve known this lady for 20 years – we used to work together. She thinks of me like a daughter. 

‘As soon as I stepped in, I knew she needed to get out. Everything was covered, and she was on antibiotics for double pneumonia.’

Since the pandemic started, the pensioner, who is also registered as blind and suffers from early onset heart failure, has also been living without central heating, which has forced her to bathe with water boiled in a kettle. 

Janet believes her friend declined to ask for help for so long because she’s a very proud person.

Insisting that her friend move in with her, Janet worked quickly to set up a GoFundMe page, which has since raised nearly £12,000 to pay for help from local tradespeople to refurbish the apartment. 

Janet said: ‘A man from the local damp company was the first person to help. He looked around, and said she’d have been dead within the month if we hadn’t moved her out. 

‘Everything was just infested with rats. We had to bin all her worldly possessions – clothes, furniture, even her old photos.’

She added: ‘All she has now are the clothes on her back. She’ll be getting a new central heating system, the rats have been pest controlled, we’re going to take up the rotten flooring and dehumidify the damp. She’ll need a whole new set of furniture too.

‘It’s been gutted – everything was just caked in thick, black mould. It’s a bit of a shell now.’

If donations from other members of the community continue at the same rate, Janet estimates work may be completed on the house by the first few weeks of the new year.

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