To feel totally alone with this issue in my home and to ask for help as a lone parent

[Htoo]

I am so exhausted and stressed. On my own with dd 1. Last night noticed a tiny bit of water under the skirting board downstairs, next to pipe connecting to radiator. The wall above skirting board is a shoe size mess of crumbling plaster and is wet. I assume a pipe is leaking in the wall. Do I call insurance? Will insurance go up massively if I do this? Is this a huge and horrendous job? Does it mean the structure of my home is now ruined? Why is it not gushing water? It’s not any worse this morning but clearly there is a problem. Who do I call for this, a plumber or plasterer or both? I have no money and feel so alone

Don't panic! We've got a small pipe leak behind some boxing - they are having a look at it this week some time

@letmego24 thanks. It’s damaged the wall quite a bit like a shoe box size of affected wall area above the skirting. Just so worried about the best way to approach dealing with it. Can I still have the heating on?

You can but the pessure is likely to be affected. Also if the water is leaking from a radiator pipe join then the water leaking out will be hot, so be careful.

I wouldn't put it on unless you absolutely have to.

It doesn’t sound like an emergency. It would be if water was pouring down the walls
but it sounds more like a slow leak. However you don’t know whether it will get worse so on balance I think I would ring the emergency line and tell them what the problem is. Insurance companies pay out a lot for water damage and might choose to send someone out.

Not a direct answer but just wanted to say...
Once you've navigated this issue successfully (which you will) you'll feel much more confident next time. It's just one of many things you'll face over time.
For me, the big things I dealt with post-divorce were the car service (terrifying) and sacking the dodgy builders (also terrifyingly but I was driven by anger). Once I'd dealt with both of them, I knew I could cope with anything.
You'll get to that point too, honestly. If it helps, get a friend or family to come over when the plumber is there, for moral support.

I would give your insurance company a phone and see what they say. My cover this would be enough for them to send someone out under the home cover element.

Also just to try and reassure you it is most probably not as bad as you think. We found damp in the kitchen cupboard, damp and bubbling plaster in the hall and a waterlogged skirting board under the hall radiator.

I catastrophised about having to rip out kitchen cupboards, remove radiators, hackon onnto walls to find burst pipes etc . It turned out the seals around the bath had gone and water was pooling on the concrete floor below every time we showered, which was then being sucked up by the walls around (we are in a flat so the bathroom is next to the kitchen).

£100 for the plumber to reseal the bath and £60 for a carpenter to remake a small bit of damaged skirting board - I repaired the damaged plaster myself, and we were fine.

what you do surely depends on whether you own your home, its privately rented or social housing?

If you don't own, your first port of all should be your landlord - hopefully other posters should have reassured you that it's not dangerous, get on to them or their agent ASAP before you rack up £££ in emergency call out fees.