At this point we then inspected the property and found approximately THIRTY defects. Some of these were cosmetic, some more important (i.e. the bathroom light could only be turned on if the hall light was already on).The site manager then mentioned to us that he had fitted the thermostat on the top floor (this is a three storey house) because the electrician could not trace the wiring where it should be.

A family living in their £350,000 dream home are suing the builders after an independent inspector found 176 defects. Justin and Sarah Gardner say their Bryant Homes house in Headington has turned into a living nightmare because it is riddled with faults.

When the Skuse family moved into a brand-new home, their dream turned into a nightmare. More than a year later, they and other residents of a Westbury Homes development in Weston-super-Mare are still waiting for defects to be put right, reports Corinne Hitching.

Following the recent Watchdog programme, articles have also appeared in the Western Daily Press, the BristolEvening Post and the Weston and Somerset Mercury all regarding the roof issues on this development.

One home had already been proved to have no roof fixings. This same home had already had Westbury to replace their roof once, however Steve detected that even this home still had unfixed tiles on an area of roof where all the tiles should have been fixed. This was a British standards issue.

I stress this is a highly subjective account, based on opinions formed over a few months of househunting/living. It is far from scientific and I am no expert. Most houses are fairly new by british standards and my experience of the houses is looking at and renting houses new-15 years old.

We went to see a few houses and were relatively impressed, not least by the fact that the price of a good-sized two bedroom flat in Edinburgh would buy us a four-bedroom detached house with a garage and garden in Dunfermline! None of the houses really grabbed us, though.

Seventeen residents who bought their properties from Persimmon Homes have an exclusive no-one would want - that they prefer their water in bottles!