A pensioner from Bermondsey has to shell out £400 for a new floor because Southwark Council will not compensate her for a defect in her radiator.

Linda Donovan, 70, noticed around June last year that dripping water had soaked her floor.

But Southwark City Council has now refused to compensate the tenant because it had not been informed of the problem beforehand.

Linda said, “How can this be my fault? I don’t own the house! I’m upset about this. I’m retired and I’ve got a rash because of all this and I think it’s all due to stress.”

“How can I put my grandchildren here when my floor is completely ruined? I am absolutely devastated by this.”

In a letter to Ms Donovan, an insurance broker working on behalf of Southwark Council wrote: “It must be shown that the landlord of the premises was aware of the problem or should reasonably have been aware of it.”

“In this case, a radiator pipe appears to have burst suddenly and unexpectedly. Our customer had no prior concerns about the pipe and received no reports of potential problems from you prior to the incident.

“For this reason, we do not believe that they can be accused of breaching their duty of care as the incident was unforeseeable for them.

“While we express our sympathy for this unfortunate incident, we believe that our client was not negligent in this case and cannot offer him any compensation.”

Southwark City Council has been asked for comment.