Photos show woman’s home after locals gave £120,000 to remove mould | UK News

Before the overhaul, Pat – who is registered blind and suffers from early onset heart failure – had been bathing using water from a kettle (Pictures: Janet Reynolds/SWNS)

These amazing before and after photos show how a disabled pensioner’s ‘horrendous’ mould and rat-infested home was saved by kind-hearted strangers.

Pat, 70, was forced out of her bungalow in Swindon, Wiltshire, just before Christmas after becoming chronically ill from the damp blanketing her walls and furniture.

When a friend shared the dire state of her living conditions on social media, generous businesses and locals came together and raised a staggering £120,000 to give the place a radical makeover.

Now Pat’s home – which only had electricity in two rooms and no central heating at all after it stopped working two years ago – is fit to be lived in once more.

She said: ‘It’s absolutely amazing what they’ve done for me.

‘I’d like to thank them all from the bottom of my heart and I am so, so grateful to them all.’

Pat from Swindon became ill after her home became infested with mould and rats and now has undergone a ??120k transformation. January 22 2024. See SWNS story SWLNpat. A frail pensioner forced out of her home by mould and rats has moved back in - after locals raised 120K for a makeover. Disabled Pat, 70, had become chronically ill from damp covering walls and furniture in her bungalow and moved out just before Christmas. Generous businesses and kind locals then rallied together to complete a monster makeover after her living conditions were revealed on social media. The property in Swindon, WIlts., had electricity in just two rooms and the central heating hadn't worked for two years. — Pat became ill after her home became infested with mould and rats(Picture: Emma Trimble/SWNS)

A hallway absolutely covered in mould (Picture: Janet Reynolds/SWNS)

Before and after photos show the extent of the transformation (Pictures: Janet Reynolds/SWNS)

Frail Pat said she is most looking forward to inviting her friends round for a cup of tea.

‘They can call in and see me on their way home from work, which is wonderful,’ she said, adding: ‘Make my life normal again.’

Before the overhaul, Pat – who is registered blind and suffers from early onset heart failure – had been bathing using water from a kettle.

The property was also infested with rats, which she described as ‘awful’ and ‘scary’.

Her friend, Janet Reynolds, 44, had been helping her with weekly shops.

But she had not been inside her house since the pandemic and did not know how bad the situation had become.

When Pat asked Janet for help cleaning the bungalow Janet admits she was ‘horrified’.

Janet said she was ‘horrified’ by the scale of the problem (Pictures: Janet Reynolds/SWNS)

Janet said she ‘begged and pleaded’ with her friend to move in with her (Pictures: Janet Reynolds/SWNS)

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

‘I’ve known her for 20 years – we used to work together. She thinks of me like a daughter. But after Covid happened, she stopped letting me into the house.

‘I thought it was odd then she asked me for help cleaning. As soon as I stepped in, I knew she needed to get out. Everything was covered, and she was on antibiotics for double pneumonia.’

Janet said she ‘begged and pleaded’ with her friend to move in with her while she sought help to refurbish the house.

She set up a GoFundMe page to pay for local tradespeople, fumigators and supplies – where local tradespeople started offering their services.

The property had electricity in just two rooms and the central heating hadn’t worked for two years (Pictures: Janet Reynolds/SWNS)

Despite feeling ‘a little embarrassed’, Pat feels overwhelmed by the number of people who came out to help.

‘She’s a very proud lady,’ she added. ‘I told her, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. She started crying – she can’t believe how generous everyone’s been.

‘The situation was really desperate.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

MORE : I lost half my leg and had 55 surgeries after a scratch from a fishing hook

MORE : Queen Camilla tells ‘workaholic’ King Charles to ‘slow down’ ahead of surgery

MORE : When I got cancer at 12, friends made it feel like it was my fault

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.