A couple have described their frustration after they were told they will have to foot the bill to repair fire damage at their council house’s out building.

Exposed wires, faulty lights and popping fuses are just some of the issues which Donna Lewis claims to have reported to Powys County Council in the lead up to a blaze which tore through her shed last week.

The fire ripped through the outbuilding belonging to the Groesffordd council house last Monday, September 27 only days after Mrs Lewis - who lives at the property with her family - claims she had reported faulty electrics in the outbuilding to Powys County Council.

Despite reports of exposed wires, faulty electrics and popping fuses, Mrs Lewis said that Powys have told her that she is expected to pay for the damage.

Donna Lewis said: “It was a bit of a shock coming home to this. They [Powys County Council] have not even had the report from the fire brigade yet but they told me on Wednesday [September 29] that it would be me paying for the damage .

“They’re telling me not to panic and that I can pay it back in installments with my rent, but that would put me in rent arrears for a lot of money

“I’ve been paying my rent and I’ve been paying my council tax and I’ve reported the faulty electrics to them.”

Since the fire, Mrs Lewis has hired a private electrician - not known to either her or Powys council - to examine the damage and he has since filed a report on where they believe the fire started.

Mrs Lewis said the council has also been told about issues with the wiring and electrics in the main house which need attention.

She said: “Why are they not coming to check these? I told them that there were fuses popping in the out housing and then there we had the fire. Since I’ve moved into this house I’ve had nothing but problems.”

Mrs Lewis said she has happily managed other problems in the house herself - including re-painting the kitchen.

Mark Lewis, who does not live at the property with Mrs Lewis, spent two days in hospital recovering after he broke into the outbuilding in an attempt to extinguish the fire which he was fearful would spread to the rest Mrs Lewis’s home.

Mr Lewis said: “The council is trying to charge the tenant for damage caused to the outbuilding by fire. What have they got insurance for?

“They’re blaming the electrical charger pack for the fire, but she’s had an electrician out who’s PAT tested it and he confirmed that wasn’t the cause of the fire because he said it would have burnt the socket out and it didn’t.”

Mr Lewis, who showed the letter from the independent electrician to The Brecon and Radnor Express, said that Powys had told her she would be paying for the bill but admitted they had not yet received the report from the fire service identifying the cause of the fire.

He also pointed out that, as a tenant, Mrs Williams is only able to purchase content insurance for items at the property and not building insurance to protect the physical property - something which is the responsibility of the landlord.

Mr Lewis said: “There’s lots of issue with the wiring. She can only get insurance on the content because she’s a tenant.

“She reported an issue with a light in the shed on the Friday [September 24] and it had burnt down by Monday.

“There is a lot of damage. It’s wrong the way they’re trying to go about it.”

Mr Lewis said that Mrs Lewis had attempted to show paperwork to the council showing her “building rights” but that it had been refused.

The destroyed outbuilding was also home to toys and bikes which belonged to the children of Mr and Mrs Lewis.

Mr Lewis said: “She’s already had to pay to prove it was not the battery pack. All the children’s’ bikes and toys are gone.

“How can they expect her to pay for the damage with two children?

“I’m the one who went in and put the fire out - I’ve still got some smoke damage on my lungs. I refused to go in an ambulance but I spent two days in hospital afterwards.”

Mr Lewis said that he has already forked out £85 to replace the glass of the door from where he broke into the building to extinguish the fire.

He said: “What did they want me to do? Did they want me to let the house go? “

Powys County Council were approached for a comment. A council spokesman said: “We are still waiting for the report from the fire service and cannot comment until we have received it.”