A WIDOW says she feels trapped in the home she shared with her husband because of a landslide, which is blighting her life.

Gillian Lee, 66, wants to move from her home in Wormwood Hill, Horsley, to escape the area from where her husband, Philip, committed suicide four months ago.

Mr Lee had urged Gloucestershire Highways to repair the landslide before his death, and he also notified the authorities that there were cracks in the road before hundreds of tons of earth slid into the back garden in December, 2013.

Mrs Lee believes that the worry and stress was one of the factors that led to his tragic death.

“I just want to know what is going on and when the work is going to be done,” said Mrs Lee, who has two children.

“We have been trying everything to find out and get some help but we haven’t been told anything. I want to move on now and find somewhere else.

“There are memories that I would like to get away from in the area.

“It also affects the whole community. It needs to be sorted out.”

Mrs Lee wants to sell the house but has been told the value of the home will be significantly reduced unless the landslide is repaired.

She shared the home with Philip for more than 30 years.

The couple were told to evacuate their home after the landslide, which crushed their shed and brought down trees in their garden.

This came after several days of rain, which caused the bank to collapse into the garden.

An inquest into Mr Lee’s death will be heard tomorrow, Thursday. Mrs Lee said there were several issues that led to the tragedy and believes the landslide was one of them.

Stroud MP Neil Carmichael has written to Highways to urge them to take action.

He said: “It is obvious that action must be taken now to ensure homeowners beneath the road and road users are protected from the consequences of inadequate road maintenance and management.

“It is quite appalling that three years on Mrs Lee is still waiting for action to be taken.

“I have written to the Highways Authority asking them to look again at the timescales that are being proposed to resolve this very challenging situation.”

Scott Tompkins, lead commissioner for highways, said: “We’d like to apologise for the length of time this has taken to repair, however, landslips are notoriously difficult to sort out.

“Before we can simply start work we have to consider all the options to ensure we make the bank stable and safe and that varies from site to site because of soil and geological conditions.

“We are in the process of completing the final design, which we believe is the safest option for the village.

“Work is scheduled to start later this year.”