Cowboy builders have left pensioner homeless
Patsy has been staying at a hotel after pipes were burst
Pensioner Patsy McAuslan-Martin has spent the last year living out of a suitcase.
The widow, 65, fled her home when it was trashed by builders called in by her insurance company.
She was split from her dogs after she moved into the plush Bowfield Hotel and Country Club.
Patsy called RBS for help after she spotted a leak – but the crew botched the job. She said: “They got real cowboys in. “I had a roofer digging my floor. “He was going so deep I thought he was going to end up in Australia.
“They burst all sorts of pipes and there was a smell of gas – I thought they were going to blow us up.
“I tried to stay at home as long as possible, but in the end I had to leave, it was just too difficult.”
Patsy called in RBS three years ago when she discovered a leak under her floor.
Builders were called in for repairs – but she was left unimpressed by the standard of their work.
The former model was forced to move out for six months when construction was ongoing.
But just two years later she had to pack- up again after problems resurfaced.
Patsy added: “It wasn’t repaired properly and has been an ongoing problem ever since. I was brushing the laminate floor in the kitchen when it just came up like confetti last August.
“The house was my pride and joy, but every time I walk by now I’m crying. They’ve smashed the chandelier in my lounge, my clothes are filthy and there’s stuff piled up on the memory foam bed I’d just bought for £1,000.”
The insurance firm stumped-up for Patsy to move into the Bowfield Hotel and Country Club just minutes from her home in Howwood.
She has been living in a room there for almost a year.
Patsy – who once ran a hotel with her late husband, marine Captain George McAuslan-Martin, who died 15 years ago – had to put her four shihtzu-chihuahua dogs into kennels.
She explained: “It ’ s been heartbreaking. Two of them were only puppies when I moved out. I’ll never get that time back. I’ve not been able to visit them because it would be terrible for them and for me.
“I’ll throw a big party and invite all their friends when we’re back. RBS offered me £50 compensation for the mess they’ve created.”
The insurers admitted liability for the mess caused at the pad Patsy has lived in for the last 22 years.
Extensive work has been needed in three bedrooms, a conservatory, the kitchen, a wet room and the lounge.
Patsy is on a cocktail of 20 pills every day to combat pain and stress and claims she was ordered to keep away from her home and to stop asking for progress updates.
She continued: She said: “I’m missing my own bed.
“I have rheumatoid and osteoarthritis and it’s been difficult not having my equipment. All of my shoes and clothes have been ruined by dust and the mess that’s been created. I’ve not been allowed back inside since this all started.
“I just had time to grab my favourite coat before I was turfed out.
“I’ve been living out a suitcase and having to buy clothes as I need them.
“I’m having to have them washed in the hotel. I get a £10 allowance each day for food.
“None of us had any idea how long I would be here.
“It’s difficult because they don’t know whether to keep the room for me. The hotel staff have had to chase RBS for my bill. “It’s embarrassing.” Patsy has been told she may finally be reunited with beloved pets Ailsa, three, Benjamin, four, and Wallace and Mirren, both 18 months, at the end of July.
The glam guest, who has a peerage in Ireland and once trained casino staff on the luxury QE2 cruise liner, hailed the hotel staff for keeping her going through the ordeal.
She said: “I have been treated like royalty. The staff have become like my second family. I’ve gotten to know them all so well and they’re always looking after me.
“I’ve read at least 200 books since I’ve been here and have been doing tai chi every day. It was especially hard being out of my home during Christmas.
“But the staff put a tree in my room and made sure I was okay. I’ve become good friends with everybody here and the maintenance manager even said he would inspect my house once it’s ready. In a way, it’s going to be hard going back home and living on my own with the dogs again.
“If It hadn’t been for the people here, I probably would have been driven round the bend a long time ago.”
Fraser Makeham, director of the Bowfield Hotel and Country Club, says Patsy has become part of the “fabric” of the building.
He said:“Having suffered a very difficult time with her domestic situation, the team have gone out of their way to ensure we have looked after her.
“Patsy has become part of the Bowfield family and will be sorely missed when she eventually returns home.”
An RBS spokesman said: “We’re committed to helping Patricia McAuslan-Martin get back into her home as soon as possible.”