A HUSBAND and wife were left “gobsmacked” after returning from a family funeral to find their driveway had been dug up by SSEN.

Pete and Colleen Matthews returned to their home in Redshank Close, Creekmoor, from Newcastle to find a “whopping trench” in their driveway as engineers installed a car charging port for their neighbour’s property.

Mr Matthews said the problem had been ongoing for more than 12 weeks and felt he had been “left hung out to dry” in his bid to get SSE to repair the driveway.

Bournemouth Echo:

He said: "This goes back to the beginning of May. We live in a semi-detached property and our neighbour wanted to be able to charge their car from their home.

“The electricity comes from our side. She said SSEN will come out and take a look at it.”

Mr Matthews said he forgot about it as nobody had contacted him and went with his wife to Newcastle for a funeral.

When he returned, he found four-feet high piles of dirt, a large hole in the pavement and a “whopping” five metre by one metre trench along his driveway.

He said there was also spray paint and damage to the wall in his drive.

The father-of-three said his £5,000 TV, specially built into his wall, stopped working and hasn’t been working since. He also had to replace his £800 shower as the work caused it to break.

Bournemouth Echo:

He has tried to contact SSEN and said the latest he heard was his case was forwarded to the complaints department.

“My neighbour’s got a beautiful drive, a beautiful electric car and a beautiful electric power point, my house looks like Beirut,” he added.

“I have had 12 weeks of only being able to use two thirds of my drive. I have got eight barriers on my drive.

“Our postman now puts letters under a brick because he can’t get to the letter box, it’s just a nightmare.

“I feel like we have just been discarded by SSEN, almost to the point of them saying ‘if we don’t answer them they will go away’.”

Mr Matthews stressed the issue was not his neighbour's fault but the fault of SSEN.

He added his wife had missed hospital appointments because of missing post.

Ward councillor Judy Butt said she’d do what she could to help the Matthews and described the situation as “outrageous”.

She said she’d also contacted SSEN but had no luck finding a solution.

The Daily Echo contacted SSEN for a comment but had not received a reply.