A RESIDENT who bought a flat in a famous Cold War bunker was left frustrated after his home had to undergo substantial repair work.

Matt Lowes, 25, of Colchester, was hoping to get the time of his life in his new one-bed flat but was instead given bowing floor and bubbled kitchen units.

Mr Lowes moved into one of the restored flats on Shrubland Road, Mistley last December, after spending years saving up for a deposit.

But not long after he set foot in his £150,000 one-bedroom flat, the floor starting falling though.

Originally built in 1951, developers Build Vantage has converted the nuclear bunker into three plush duplex apartments.

Mr Lowes, who is an estate agent himself, had to get the company to relay his floor, but claims he now has almost no insulation and soundproofing.

He added: “As soon as I moved in the flooring started making cracking noises.

“I was so excited to have my own place and friends were coming around and saying‘ it looks like the flooring is dipping in certain places.

“The flooring was bowing and getting worse and worse up to the point where my neighbours were saying they could hear me when I am walking around.”

Harwich and Manningtree Standard: The floor was bowing which meant it had to be replacedThe floor was bowing which meant it had to be replaced

Mr Lowes claims he was given a day notice to move out while his flooring was being redone.

He said he had to spend around nine days in a hotel while work in his apartment was underway, which caused him a great amount of anxiety.

He said: “First time buying is supposed to be such an exciting experience and it’s really not.

“The last 10 months of my life have been wasted on stress and money problems and, wondering if I have to move out.

“I am out of pocket from hotel stays including food, after spending nearly £1100 all together and they only gave me £450 back.

Mr Lowes said he feels he has no privacy because of the thin insulation, claiming his neighbours can hear him cough, walk around his flat, flush the toilet or watch TV.

Now that the old flooring has been taken off and replaced, Mr Lowes said he found out there are power units below his sink, which also makes him fear for his safety.

Ravi Kumar, director for Build Vantage, said the company has done its best to repair the flat but Mr Lowes is still unhappy.

He added: “We changed his floor. We had bronze colour Amtico and he said he wanted grey colour. We ordered grey for him. I am not sure what else one can do.

“We have ordered 4 matt coloured threshold strips.

“The property is 100% safe and secure. It has 10 years warranty and is recently built.

“All the insulation and acoustic properties are as per Building Control standards. “