Landlord blamed for cat’s death after fence collapse
Family wait weeks for repairs to storm-damaged barrier...then tragedy
A furious mum has blamed a housing association for the death of her cat after it escaped through a broken fence and was run over.
Theo died after making his way onto busy Hermitage Lane in Maidstone weeks after Joanne Gould’s garden fence was battered by Storm Eunice.
The 56-year-old says she had been asking Clarion Housing Association for eight weeks to come and fix her broken structure, but was told it “wasn’t an emergency”.
When Storm Eunice hit, the 10ft sound barrier fence came down and left a gaping hole straight to the busy road which leads to Maidstone Hospital, where the feline eventually escaped and was hit by a car. Distraught Joanne, a meals supervisor, said: “I told the housing association I need the fence fixed as I have two cats who love the garden and have to be kept in.
“Sadly my cat of three years got out when I took my rubbish
out in the garden and ran off. “We couldn’t find him and then a few hours later that night I had a call from the vets to say he had been hit by a car and died.
“My daughter and I are distraught. My daughter can’t sleep and just keeps crying. It was her cat and we got it for her when
she was going through hard times – now she’s heartbroken. “I blame the housing company as I told them about the cats but it didn’t make a difference. I don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”
Joanne claims she had called Clarion when she first heard
about the storm coming as her fence had “rotten” posts and she didn’t want it coming down. “When the storm came it was knocked down. Luckily, nobody was hurt but they easily could’ve been,” she added.
Despite her fury over the loss of her cat and complaints to
Clarion, Joanne says the fence still hasn’t been fixed and she hasn’t been told when it will be. The mum added: “I rang them again last week and they said planning have given it the all clear to be fixed but they’re still waiting on parts, which I find hard to believe.
“My garden is open for the public to see in, so I have no privacy and have to keep all tools and bikes in my living room every night or when I’m out – I’m not happy at all.”
Clarion Housing Association said it had given priority to repairing people’s homes rather than fences following the storms.
A Clarion spokesman said: “We are very sorry to hear of the loss of Ms Gould’s cat.
“We attended to assess the fence on February 14 and arranged for its replacement. “The fencing is a special type called acoustic fencing, meaning it has taken longer to obtain. “We are aware that this fence was subsequently destroyed in the storm and we are working with our contractors to ensure we can carry out the work as swiftly as possible.”