We swapped our two-bed semi to live in a prefab pod –  bills are cheaper but here is what I HATE about it

• EXCLUSIVE: Gillian and Wayne Millward bought a new ‘ModPod’ in Coventry
• The couple ‘love’ the prefab but there are a number of annoying features 
• Mrs Millward said the prefab was so quiet she compared it to a ‘morgue’ 

A couple who swapped their semi-detached home for an eco-friendly prefab pod said their bills are cheaper – but compared it to a ‘morgue’.

Gillian and Wayne Millward took the bold step to ditch their two-bed, where they had lived for 13 years, for a small eco-friendly, factory-built home.

The modular home, called a ‘ModPod’, decked out with solar panels on the roof, was trucked over and craned into place on the site of former garages in Coventry, West Midlands.

Care worker Mrs Millward, told MailOnline: ’We’ve only been here for a few weeks but we love it. 

‘We wanted to downsize and it is the perfect place for us. Our old home was too big for us.

‘The only problem is it’s so quiet, it’s like a morgue.’

‘Wayne loves the peace, it suits him, but it’s too quiet for me and I do miss living in a busy street with lots of lovely neighbours to chat to.’

For the time being the new tenants cannot even decorate the interior walls – which have been finished in a neutral white – with Mrs Millward saying: ’As this is brand new pod we have to wait nine to 12 months to re-paint inside.’

She also pointed out two ‘annoying features.’

Both the fan switch for the bathroom and light switch for the loft are located above the door, and standing at a petite five feet high she can’t reach them.

She said: ‘Bearing in mind these homes are designed for older people, who may not be that tall, the switches are in a ridiculous place.’

The mum who has three grown up children from her first marriage, added: ‘But one good thing is we don’t have any spare room to put up any visitors. We can tell them there’s no room at the pod.’

Mrs Millward, 61, and her second husband Wayne, 55, an engineer at a Walkers’ crisps factory, decided to swap their rented redbrick, for the pod on the far edge of a development a mile and a half away to cut down on bills.

They also rent the pod – hoping one day they may have the option to buy it.

But while it is the same £500-a-month rate as the house – it is cheaper to run.

She said: ‘Rent is the same but bills are down from £120 a month to £80, so that’s a good saving.

‘It’s all run on electricity with solar panels, and there’s a charging point outside in our drive for an electric car although we haven’t got one as yet.’

The dove-grey panelled semi pod bungalow, with white window frames and smart black front door, with an entrance hall with just four rooms.

There is a kitchen, lounge which can fit in a dining table with four chairs, a double bedroom and bathroom.

A useful loft, for suitcases and storage, runs the length and breadth of the pod.

Mrs Millward enjoys the fact that her kitchen is bigger than the one in her old home, but there is no room for a tumble dryer as well as washing machine so she uses a ‘dry buddy’ – a portable electric clothes dryer.

The bathroom only has a shower, with no bath, which she ‘really misses,’ but said: ‘Whilst there are some cons there are more pros.’

She explained that the mod pods – there are a dozen on her site – are mainly designed for people over 55 who want to downsize and life a more simple and easier life

The prefab homes are designed to last for 60 years.

The 24 homes in Coventry, which are part of a Citizen’s extended modular pilot scheme, are built at the Modpods International factory in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire.

Executive director of development at Citizen Nick Byrne said: ‘There are many benefits to modular homes including high energy efficiency and, as they are built in a factory, they can be constructed in all weathers.

‘When they are craned on to the site they are hooked up to the services and the house is ready to use. ‘