A Bolton man says he was forced to leave his home and move more than 100 miles away due to a persistent water leak.

Mark Entwistle, aged 58, had lived in Bolton his whole life.

He moved into his mother’s Bolton at Home flat in Great Lever in 2010 to help care for her while she had Parkinson’s disease.

He took over the property following his mother’s death. However, he’s now moved to Carlisle after a leak from the property above his flat led to mould developing and even led to him becoming wet when he tried to use the toilet.

Mark said: “They said they need access to the tenants above – but, like I said, I reported it two months ago and they said ‘give it 28 days and we’ll get back to you with a response’.

“In my eyes, nothing’s happened whatsoever – all they’re interested in is collecting the rent. That’s my personal opinion.”

Mark said the leaking began a few years ago, but subsided after a young couple living above him moved out.

However, the leak started again after more people moved in.

Eventually, Mark decided to leave the flat, after his 14-year-old daughter who had moved in with him, came down with a ‘bad cough’ – despite never having one before.

Sign up to our newsletters to get the latest stories sent straight to your inbox.

Mark said: “[I’m] gutted really, because at the end of the day I didn’t want to move, but my daughter’s come down to live with me and then this all kicked off.

“Straight away I’m thinking: right, what’s the best place for her to be? It’s where she was born and bred, up in Carlisle.

“With her cough starting, I thought: no, get her up there, get her back to where she belongs.”

Mark added: “I just want to tell them to get their backside in gear, because at the end of the day it’s not right what they’re doing to people.

“I’m not just hearing it from myself, I’m hearing it from other people – their repairs are shocking.”

Follow The Bolton News on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), and TikTok.

A spokesperson for Bolton at Home said: “We were first notified about water leaking into Mr Entwistle’s home in February 2024 and attended the same day to investigate.

“The leak was being caused by an issue in a neighbouring property and we carried out work in this property to resolve the issue.

“We received a further report of leaking water in March and a detailed inspection of the underlying causes of the leak was scheduled to take place following this.

“However, since this time we have been unable to regain access to the neighbouring property despite repeated efforts.

“Mr Entwistle has since vacated the property and we are taking steps to fix the issue and re-let it as soon as possible.

“We take damp and mould seriously and have protocols in place to deal with issues reported to us as quickly as possible.

“Instances where we’re unable to access properties to carry out repairs present us with a challenging situation that we ultimately are required to pursue through the courts.

“We understand Mr Entwistle’s frustration, and we regret the time it’s taken to get this sorted.” 

If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk.