A PENSIONER from Kidderminster is “over the moon” after a group of kind-hearted traders offered to install her new bathroom for free in light of Kitchen World going into liquidation.

Louise Hammond was told it was unlikely she would get her £1,500 deposit back, paid via cheque just weeks before the Worcester firm went bust this month.

The 66-year-old has been diagnosed with left ventricle dysfunction and was quoted £9,000 by the Henwick Road-based installers to make desperately-needed changes in her home to ease her suffering.

The group of tradesman, from around Worcestershire, have been assembled by a developer, with all wishing to remain anonymous.

“At the end of the day someone needed to step in because she has got an illness and needs this work doing,” said the developer, aged 40, and from Malvern.

“Everyone I asked to get involved said yes immediately and it’s something they wanted to do and no-one wants anything for themselves. We all said, that could be our mum.”

The generous developer has donated £2,000 while a building firm has put up £1,000, which they hope will cover the costs of the parts, with a plumber, tiler and electrician happy to give up their time for nothing.

“The time people are giving is the same as money for them, they could be losing hundreds of pounds,” he said.

The developer went on to say he was inspired, in part, by the “community spirit” shown for Oscar Saxelby-Lee, five, whose parents raised £500,000 in three weeks to pay for life-saving treatment to tackle his T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

He said he also has sympathy for the owners and staff at Kitchen World, which has been in the city for nearly 50 years.

“It’s hard for the people going bust, no-one chooses to go bust,” he said.

Mrs Hammond, from Kidderminster, has criticised the company for continuing to take deposits from customers before going into voluntary liquidation last week.

“No-one goes out of business overnight,” she said.

Hayley Sherwood, a director of Kitchen World, said going into liquidation was only decided two weeks before and was not “taken lightly”.

She added: “We took deposits in the hope we could carry on”.

Referring to the tradesmen’s kindness, Mrs Hammond added: “Some good has come out of this evil.”