Ceiling collapses in baby's bedroom; DANGER: Council's contract workmen fail to protect roof over weekend.Byline: William Oliphant A FAMILY are devastated dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. after their bedroom ceilings collapsed following a blunder by council workmen Father-of-three Keith Ingham was shocked after gallons of water flooded into his newly-redecorated council house during recent rainstorms, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage and leaving him with no electricity. He had allowed workers contracted by the council into his house to carry out work on roof beams. But he was shocked when they left the job for the weekend and only put up a flimsy tarpaulin to keep out the elements. Keith, whose partner has just had a baby, said: "I started noticing damp spots on the ceiling so we called the council and said they better send someone out. But no-one came until the next day by which time rain was pouring down the walls and the roof in my baby's room had collapsed." He said an electrician came out to isolate isolate /iso·late/ (i´sah-lat) 1. to separate from others. 2. a group of individuals prevented by geographic, genetic, ecologic, social, or artificial barriers from interbreeding with others of their kind. the electricity supply and a workman WORKMAN. One who labors, one who is employed to do business for another. 2. The obligations of a workman are to perform the work he has undertaken to do; to do it in proper time; to do it well to employ the things furnished him according to his contract. put up more plastic sheeting, but it wasn't until the following Monday that workers turned up to deal with the problem. "There was water everywhere and the second bedroom ceiling had collapsed. ''They threw all the stuff from my baby's room into the skip and now the insurance are saying they might not pay out because we can't prove that all the stuff was in the room. "We had just redecorated the house and we had spent thousands on it," said Keith, who is currently living on sickness benefit Noun 1. sickness benefit - money paid (by the government) to someone who is too ill to work sick benefit Britain, Great Britain, U.K., UK, United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most because of a bad shoulder. "It was mine and my partner's first council house and we were looking to stay here for good." A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said: "We apologise v. 1. same as apologize. Verb 1. apologise - defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning; "rationalize the child's seemingly crazy behavior"; "he rationalized his lack of success" to the family for the inconvenience they have experienced. ''Exceptional circumstances with the weather has meant water was able to get into the building during routine roof replacement work. "Together with our contractors Tomlinsons, we have been in daily contact with the family and have provided them with hotel accommodation. ''We will be providing rented accommodation for the next month and will be covering all costs incurred, including repairing damage, redecorating and replacing goods." CAPTION(S): Decorating disaster: Keith Ingham and Elaine Titley with the damage to their ceiling. |
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