"I Take Outdoor Baths in Front of My Neighbors Because I Couldn't Afford a New Bathroom – Just £150 for My Council House Garden Tub!"

RUBBING the soap between my hands I give myself a thorough scrub before laying back and relaxing in my dream bath tub.

Glancing up I spy my next door neighbour and give them a wave. My white tabby cat watches all this from his perch on the that shields me from a nearby public footpath.

Erica Crompton enjoys a dip in full view of her neighbours Credit: Supplied She paid £150 for a second hand roll-top bath on Facebook marketplace Credit: Supplied

As I rest in the water, I am starting to feel like I’ve won the lottery – resting, and rejuvenating as the trees sway around me, and the sun shines.

But I’m not at a , or in an expensive

I’m actually lying in a secondhand bath tub from And I’m in my back on the council estate I dwell on.

I’ve been missing a bath since my fiance Paul moved in and the council adapted our bathroom into a , as Paul has been using a wheelchair since he had a car accident aged 21.

She was able to install an outdoor tap for £70 Credit: Erica Crompton Erica had previously been bathing in what she describes as a ‘bucket’ in her shower room Credit: Erica Crompton

This meant I lost my beloved tub and I’ve always been a bath-person rather than a shower-person.

Initially, I’d gathered quotes from traders between an eye-watering £3800-£7000 to get a bath installed upstairs, which was ludicrous on my benefits budget.

My joint Universal Credit claim, which in part I receive as a full-time carer, doesn’t allow us for combined savings of over £6000.

How would I ever have a bath again?

For the last 12 months, I’d been bathing in a 120cm by 70cm plastic and mobile tub from Amazon.

I’d put it inside the wetroom, and while it fit in here, it wasn’t exactly comfortable or inspiring looking at the grey tiles.

Plus, it felt like I’m a Victorian filling up my tub (what I now refer to as ‘the bucket’) and squeezing in. There were times I’d start to smell of sweat because I was reluctant to use ‘the bucket’ or the shower in our wetroom.

It seemed I was destined to go without.

That is until I saw an unfluencer’s post on Instagram, tooting the mental health benefits of an outdoor bath, and also mentioning it needn’t cost the earth.

I was sold.

After this discovery, and once the weather got warm, Paul and I dedicated our free time to sourcing a dream outdoor bath – roll-top, 170cm long and something that’ll compliment our garden.

When I spot exactly this – a £130 roll-top bath on Facebook Marketplace – I message immediately. The previous owner is a farmer’s wife and is happy to deliver for an extra twenty quid. My new bath is with us within 24 hours of messaging.

Next, I need to think about autumn and winter and warmer water. Just because it’s cold outside, doesn’t necessarily mean a bath needs to be. So we luck out finding ‘John the Tap Man’ on Facebook. He pops over within 48 hours and fits a hot tap in under two hours, for £70.

My fiancé Paul is currently working on fashioning a privacy screen with tall clematis plant pots and an Ikea privacy screen which is a best seller and a steal at £60.

It’s also been hugely inexpensive and has cost thousands of pounds less than a house bath upstairs. It also makes for a unique talking point in our garden.

I’ve had to dip into my overdraft to survive this month though.

But it’s my 46th birthday in August, and I’m asking relatives for money rather than gifts to help pay for my outdoor bath. I’ve also got some freelance writing work for this year which will help, too.

I’m sure I’ll be able to make back £220 for the bath, and the hot tap.

And I’m definitely selling the portable bath tub – ‘the bucket’ – on Facebook marketplace!

As I write this today, I’ve already had four long soaks in my outdoor bath. The nighttime one under the stars is an exceptional experience. Soulful and have been an endless benefit to mental health.

I took a cool glass of soda pop with me and could hear the ice gently clinking under the outside evening breeze and rustle of leaves as the trees swayed.

My outdoor bath has made our little council home feel like a spa retreat set within a council estate and when I bathe behind the green screen of clematis and Ikea, I feel like I’m in the Seychelles rather than Stoke-on-Trent.

The results of adding an outdoor bath to my home are dreamy. A bath. Outside. In the wild. With the warm water flowing under a concerto of singing birds.