Ref. 30923-12A WOMAN claims she was moved with her partner and new baby into a council house riddled with potentially lethal faults.

When housewife Paula Smith, fianc Alan Smith and seven-week-old Caitlin were offered the chance to move from their third floor flat in Eldene, they thought their new house in Kingswood Avenue, Park North, would be an ideal place to raise a child. That all changed, Ms Smith says, when they moved in and began noticing faults and she accuses the council of failing to listen to her complaints until she said she was calling the Evening Advertiser.

Swindon Council says the house passed an inspection by its experts before the family moved in on May 31.

Ms Smith said: "The first things we noticed were that the bathroom sink was blocked and that the kitchen only seemed to have one small cupboard and a sink, but that wasn't the worst.

"We could smell gas and later we saw water dripping onto a light switch in the kitchen and a plug socket in the living room.

"We were calling the council for two weeks, and it was only when I said I was calling the newspaper that they said they would sort things out."

Council spokeswoman Hellen Barnes said the building showed no signs of problems prior to the new tenants being admitted, but added that a further inspection would be carried out.