Few of us enjoy household chores but for Shari Cairns, it is more of an ordeal than most.

Every time she wants to put her washing on the line, she has to climb though her window after her landlord nailed her door to its frame when the hinges broke.

Ms Cairns, a mother of three, would not have minded if it was just for a week or so, but it has been nailed shut for the past five months and now she is sick of it.

She and her three children - aged 18, eight and six - haven’t been able to enjoy their back garden during the summer.

"I’ve made numerous calls to get it fixed and have had lots of appointments but either no one shows or someone turns up without the right materials to fix it..."- Shari Cairns

Ms Cairns, of Mountview Court, Chatham, has complained to her landlord, Hyde Housing Association on numerous occasions, but claims she has repeatedly been let down by contractors who either fail to show up, or cannot fix the problem.

She said: “The hinges broke on March 21 and a contractor came out soon afterwards to do a temporary repair.

“He nailed the door to its frame so we can’t open it and said he would get it logged as soon as he got back and someone would be round to repair it within a few days.

“That was in March and when no one showed up I called Hyde Housing and they told me the repair had not even been logged on the system.

“How can that be when they sent someone round to do the temporary repair?

“Since then I’ve made numerous calls to get it fixed and have had lots of appointments but either no one shows or someone turns up without the right materials to fix it.

“I must have spent about £100 on phone calls to them and now I’ve had enough.

“It’s beyond a joke now.”

A Hyde spokesman said: “We’re sorry about the service experienced by Ms Cairns and apologise for any distress caused. This level of service falls far short of the standards we expect of our team.

“A specialist glazier will be on site, at her home, and we’ll act swiftly to complete the repair as soon as possible.

“We’re speaking with Ms Cairns and will keep her fully updated on progress.”