A dad had just finished making his son a snack when the ceiling of his kitchen collapsed.
Clark Riding, 39, from Toxteth, called his eight-year-old son downstairs to collect a snack he had made for him on Wednesday, November 21. But after his son collected the plate and left the room the ceiling of his kitchen collapsed on top of him.
The dad had already been in a row with his housing association, Onward Housing, earlier that month when he had no heating or hot water for almost two weeks after a fault with his boiler. He woke up to the sound of dripping from his boiler cupboard on October 26.
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Following the leak, Clark's three-bedroom home suffered severe damage including water marks on the wall, mould and damage to the floor. His boiler was finally fixed by Onward Housing on November 16, but damage from the leak remained.
Clark said: "They fixed the boiler, but since then it's just gone from bad to worse. There was a crack in the ceiling, which was the ceiling of the kitchen and the floor of the bathroom.
"The crack just started getting bigger and bigger as me and my son were using the bathroom everyday. It got to the point where I started noticing dust coming through the crack [on the ceiling in the kitchen] when my son went to the bathroom, he's only small - he's eight.
"I told the the housing association the ceiling was going to come down, and they said somebody would call me back. On Wednesday I was making my son a snack and I had just called him down from upstairs and given him his plate.
"Literally just as he left the room to go upstairs the ceiling collapsed right on top of my head. I was taken aback at first, but then I was raging - my son just walked out of there."
Onward Housing sent out a plasterer and electrician to the home, who Clark claims told the association that it was unsafe to live in the home. The same night Clark and his son were put up in a Travelodge.
Clark continued: "They said they would put us in there for just one night. When we checked out I went back to the house and the surveyor came to say the beams looked safe and sound.
"I asked him if he would live here with his eight year old son, I asked him to leave because I was furious. I keep getting in touch with Onward and they won't tell me when they're coming to fix the issue.
"I can't use my kitchen at the moment due to all the mess and it being pitch black in here. It's like I said last time, I feel like I'm just completely in the dark. There's no urgency."
A spokesperson for Onward said: “We are very sorry for the distress and inconvenience that this situation has caused to Mr Riding. After we replaced Mr Riding’s boiler, part of the ceiling, which was drying out from earlier water damage, collapsed.
"We arranged for Mr Riding to stay in a hotel overnight until we had carried out an inspection. Our surveyors visited his home the next day and confirmed that it was safe.
"We will replaster his ceiling tomorrow and redecorate once the plaster is dry. We acknowledge that this has been an upsetting time and will ensure that Mr Riding is satisfied with the work that we carry out.
"We will also check if he needs any extra support from us.”
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