A FAMILY say they have had a “year from hell” after a row with builders left their home uninhabitable.

Kerry McLean say contractors were sent in by Direct Line to fix an upstairs leak but never finished it – but the insurance firm say it was because a family member became aggressive.

Ms McLean, of Southdown Avenue, Peacehaven, said Bolney-based contractors A and A Construction started the work in March 2013 but left it unfinished, before Hove-based Taskers did the same.

The 44-year-old was living in a house with carpets torn up and an exposed raw sewage pipe in the bathroom for six months before the insurers agreed to pay for the rented accommodation she is living in now.

But having moved with her children Harry, eight, and Georgia, 15, in October, the family home is still in the same state despite what she claims as “more than 100 calls” to Direct Line.

She said: “As well as the sewage pipe, they left a hole in the floor and that’s how we lived until October.

“Every time I phoned them [Direct Line], I was just fobbed off from one person to another.

“It’s been horrendous for me and my children, who both have asthma, and Harry has been in and out of hospital because of the damp living conditions.

“It’s affected all aspects of our life, it’s been a year from hell.”

Direct Line has now offered Ms McLean an undisclosed cash settlement.

A spokeswoman for the insurance company claimed relationships had been fractious between the builders and the family after Ms McLean’s father had become aggressive, which she denies.

She said: “The father of the customer became quite aggressive and abusive and builders said he was destroying some of the work they have done.

“As a result, A and A Construction did not want to go back on the job, and the same thing happened with Taskers.

“We feel if we send in someone else from our network, the same thing will happen, which is why the cash settlement was offered.

“We empathise with the customer, but we feel we have gone above and beyond to try and keep her happy.”

She added the leak was caused by wear and tear and bad workmanship previously, which is not usually covered by the policy, and that Direct Line paid for the work as a gesture of good will.

Ms McLean added: “My little boy asks me every other day, ‘when are we going home?’, and I can’t answer him.”

The Argus contacted both A and A Construction and Taskers but declined to comment.