WHEN Jeff Hill and his partner bought a brand new house, they thought everything would be domestic bliss.

But their stay on Pleasant Close in Pontllanfraith was anything but pleasant, as a series of problems and defects blighted their lives for almost a year.

Mr Hill, 34, a supervisor at a food manufacturing factory, and his partner Libby Lewis, 26, a food technologist, moved in to their new £180,000 three-bedroom terraced town house exactly a year ago this week.

But soon after they arrived at the George Wimpey development at Nant y Llwyd, things started to go wrong.

First they discovered the kitchen had been measured up wrongly, and was not big enough to fit both a washing machine and dishwasher.

The shower was plumbed in incorrectly, with the hot and cold feeds the wrong way round, putting it out of use for four weeks.

The central heating valves were wired incorrectly, with the hot water timer switch controlling the radiators and vice versa.

A skirting board was nailed into a water-pipe, causing a huge water leak that flooded the living room and garage beneath.

The wall on the stairway was bowing due to the weight of one floor on top of another and had to be repaired.

Most of the windows had to be replaced because they were badly scratched, and the shower drainage pipe was fitted incorrectly, causing the shower tray to fill up with water.

Although George Wimpey fixed most of the problems relatively quickly, Mr Hill is angry that they happened in the first place.

He said: "You don't expect that amount of problems and that poor quality of workmanship on such a new development.

"It's very frustrating and disheartening.

"If the houses were inspected or audited prior to homebuyers moving in, all the inconvenience we have suffered could have been avoided.

"Some of the problems we have experienced have bordered on the comical.

"It's simple things that should have been sorted out."

A spokeswoman for George Wimpey South Wales said: "George Wimpey regrets that minor defects do sometimes occur with new homes, but is always focused in efficiently resolving any such matters in line with its customer charter and warranty commitments."