A CLYDEBANK roofing firm has been accused of botching a job - leaving a pensioner “unable to eat or sleep”.

Elizabeth Hainey, 74, said she accepted a quote from Tom Fleming Roofing Services Ltd., only to discover several tiles on her roof were “broken and cracked”.

When she saw the finished work from the ground, she claims she knew “something was wrong”.

So the plucky Dumbarton pensioner got a set of ladders and climbed up on the roof herself.

When she saw the work that had been carried out, Mrs Hainey said: “I just stood up there and cried and cried.”

Initially Mrs Hainey was pleased as Tom Fleming Roofing Services was recommended by her brother, and the estimate was for £4,560 – several thousand less than other quotes she received.

And, according to Mrs Hainey: “Trading Standards had the company listed on the books.”

The company is on West Dunbartonshire Council’s Trusted Trader scheme.

But after seeing the condition of her “new” tiles, Mrs Hainey confronted company director Alan Christie in her back yard.

She says he told her: “That’s the way the tiles are made.”

She told him: “I ain’t no mug. I’ve been up on the roof and took photos.”

The septuagenarian said he must have been shocked that she’d gone up on the roof, but Mrs Hainey told the Post she has been cleaning it for years.

After contacting Trading Standards, she paid £321 for an independent roofing consultant to carry out a report.

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It reads: “Significant impact damage was noted to the concrete roof tiles throughout…the damage in our opinion has compromised the structural integrity and, therefore, lifespan of the roof tiles. A number of tiles were already noted to be broken or cracked.”

Mrs Hainey refused to pay Mr Christie and she says the situation has had a terrible effect on her health.

She added: “It’s so stressful. I’ll fight this, but it’s taken its toll on me. I don’t sleep, I don’t eat well.”

Marley, the tile manufacturer, wrote to Mrs Hainey saying: “Correctly fixed tiles do not simply break on the roof during service, but are more likely to have become damaged during installation and site handling.

“Tiles that are damaged are unfit for purpose, on both durability and aesthetic grounds, and should not have been installed by the roofing contractor.”

A spokesperson for the council said: “West Dunbartonshire Trading Standards is currently investigating and has provided this resident with advice and support while this is ongoing.”

When asked about the job, Mr Christie said: “There was nothing wrong with the workmanship.

“It’s down to Marley. It’s the manufacturer’s guarantee.

“If I was on the outside looking in, then Marley should be providing a couple of pallets of tiles that they’re happy with.

“We went back and replaced four or five tiles where the wee corner was maybe cracked on them. But the last time we were on the roof there weren’t any broken ones.

“That is fact. I can say because I was there. There has been more tiles broken since and it’s not down to anybody from our company.

“We’re a big company, we’re not in the process of leaving bad jobs.

“We offered to change the tiles. She [Mrs Hainey] said ‘no, I don’t want you anywhere near my roof’.”