A disabled man in Preston living in a social flat has been without a working shower for eight months – leaving him forced to travel as far as Cleveleys to wash.
Andy Speariett, 58, moved into Ribble Court in November 2025 after time spent at another Places for People site in Fulwood’s Clifton House.
Residents at Clifton House faced a year-long bedbug infestation which left residents without furniture or even a bed to sleep on. It led to an intervention from Preston MP Sir Mark Hendrick who called for compensation for residents – who he said had been left with physical scars as a result.
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Andy was one of the affected residents and was eventually moved to Ribble Court, accommodation at Douglas Street in Ashton-on-Ribble, by Places for People. But he immediately encountered further problems.
He told Blog Preston: “The first evening I moved in, the shower in the wet room wasn’t draining and nearly flooded my flat. I’ve reported it and over the next six weeks we had countless plumbers and electricians round and they couldn’t figure out the problem.
“I kept telling them there was a blockage somewhere. Eventually one bloke decided to go into the cabinet where all the pipes are and stick a rod up the pipe and he got the bits that were blocking it.
“But in doing that, they’ve also dislodged a pipe. So then the water wasn’t just draining out of the wet room, it was draining straight out into the flat below. The poor gentleman who moved in shortly after went to switch his lights on and tripped all the electrics. Then there was water coming through his ceiling. So we reported it again.”
Andy was told at that time – January 2026 – that he shouldn’t use his shower. He has requested alternative accommodation and even permission to use a shower in one of the vacant flats but says he was told this is not possible. Places for People says he has been offered alternative accommodation but Andy says this is not the case.
He said: “I keep getting loads of different reasons and there are constant phone calls. To fix things, they’ve got to lift the floor up in the wet room and there’s another appointment for 18 August now. It just keeps going backwards and forwards.”
Andy, who works, has what he describes as ‘quite extensive’ arthritis and has been travelling to family in Fulwood, Ribbleton and sometimes Cleveleys to wash. He pays over £800 per month for his Places for People flat.
There are communal showers in the building but they have been plagued by drug users – with needles found in there on a number of occasions – so he does not feel they are safe.
Blog Preston reached out to Places for People for an explanation about Andy’s situation. After doing so, Andy was visited by a plumber who reiterated the need for the floor to be lifted at the property.
In their statement, Places for People said they were not aware of the extent of the problem and that they had offered temporary accommodation to Andy. When we said that this didn’t match with Andy’s version of events, we received no further response.
A spokesperson for Places for People said: “We’re incredibly sorry for Mr Speariett’s experience and the impact this has had on him. We understand how difficult this must have been and know this is not the standard of service our customers should expect.
“When the issue was first reported in November, we offered Mr Speariett alternative accommodation while investigations took place, but he decided not to take up this option. Following a number of visits, our understanding was that the problem had been resolved in January, and we have no record of it being raised with us again until recently.
“As soon as we became aware the issue was ongoing, we acted immediately. A repairs operative has attended this week to assess the problem, and we’re doing everything we can to resolve it as quickly as possible while continuing to support Mr Speariett throughout.”
