A housing association has been accused of "taking on too many properties" by a councillor who has been helping a tenant whose home flooded over Christmas.

Borehamwood councillor Michelle Vince has described Clarion Housing as "inadequate" after she was inundated with reports of problems in homes run by the housing association.

One Clarion tenant in the town who has been suffering recently is Marina Freed.

On Boxing Day, her home on the Farriers Way estate was flooded after a major leak from a faulty upstairs toilet - an issue she says she had reported the previous year.

Ms Freed, who lives at the house with her teenage daughter. was left "shivering for hours" on Boxing Day waiting for someone from Clarion to visit her home.

She said: "I had a flood on Boxing Day. All of the electricals were damaged and the house was absolutely freezing and it stank of damp.

"Clarion said they'd move me out but I was stuck for two-and-half days."

Ms Freed, who said flood was the "biggest test yet" of her mental health, was offered a hotel room which she declined because she was not able to take her dog with her so she stayed at a friend's home for a few days before returning home because it's where she feels safest.

When she got home on January 4, she says her house still smelt, the floor was "wrecked" and hardly any repairs had been completed.

She said: "Nothing had been done except the electrics. I told Clarion it was an absolute joke and it was disgusting how they had treated me. I had reported numerous issues with leaks.

"If Clarion had done what they'd said they do last March and April and fix the leak, this wouldn't have happened."

Thankfully for Ms Freed, and with help and support from Cllr Vince, who first went to check in on her on Boxing Day after the flood was reported, the repairs to her toilet were completed this week and she has been offered compensation by Clarion for the time she had to spend away from her home.

But the mother is not the only Clarion tenant with issues in their home - Cllr Vince was inundated with residents reporting problems when she took to social media on Boxing Day.

When asked about the comments on social media by the Times, Cllr Vince said: "I did expect the comments because of how many times I’ve been called about issues.

"It’s disappointing and inadequate. Everyone is trapped in their homes at the moment and repairs aren’t being done. Our houses seem to be deteriorating because we haven’t got an adequate repair service continually maintaining the houses."

The Labour representative added: "Clarion have taken on too many properties to keep them maintained and repaired. I was exhausted over Christmas just trying to get in touch with Clarion."

A spokesperson for Clarion Housing, which is the biggest housing association in England, said: "The wellbeing of our residents is our absolute priority and we are committed to maintaining and improving the quality of our homes, investing significantly in them each year.

"Our repairs service in Hertfordshire has consistently met its targets for appointment times and first time fixes throughout the year, despite the challenges faced throughout the pandemic, and we have worked hard to ensure our residents remain safe and comfortable in their homes.

"In this particular case, when a leak was reported on December 26, we attended the same day as an emergency and made the property safe.

"We appreciate this has been very inconvenient and have offered the resident a disturbance payment to compensate for the time she has needed to spend away from home. An unrelated leak had been attended to at the property in May 2019 and was resolved at that time.

"The bathroom and kitchen at the property is scheduled to be entirely refurbished this year as part of our planned investment programme."