Couple flee as roof threatens to fall on them; HUGE CRACKS APPEAR IN FLAT'S WALLS AFTER RAFTERS START TO BUCKLE.Byline: PHIL DOHERTY WHEN Ralph Starkey heard a loud band while sitting in his first-floor flat he thought it was just another thunder storm. It wasn't until he found plaster strewn strew tr.v. strewed, strewn or strewed, strew·ing, strews 1. To spread here and there; scatter: strewing flowers down the aisle. 2. across the floor and huge cracks appearing up the walls he realised his house was falling down around his ears. The problem is thought to have been caused by previous re-roofing work using materials too heavy for the roof supports. This caused the rafters, trusses and roof lintels to buckle under Verb 1. buckle under - consent reluctantly knuckle under, succumb, give in, yield consent, go for, accept - give an affirmative reply to; respond favorably to; "I cannot accept your invitation"; "I go for this resolution" the strain at the property in Cambridge Avenue, Whitley Bay Whitley Bay, town (1991 pop. 36,040), North Tyneside metropolitan district, NE England, on the North Sea. Formerly the urban district of Whitley and Monkseaton, Whitley Bay was chartered as a municipal borough in 1954. , North Tyneside North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear in the North East of England. Its seat is at the Town Hall, Wallsend. Created in 1974, the borough lies within the historic county boundaries of Northumberland. . Ralph, 51, who lives with his wife Eleanor at the terraced property, said: "It was like a loud thunder clap The Thunder Clap is a form of dance that incorporates clapping in the air with a sliding motion. To perform this dance one must raise one hand and then with the second hand meet the first one half way making a clapping sound. Than that hand must fully extend. . But as soon as I came out of the sitting room I saw there was plaster and cracks everywhere and I knew there was something seriously wrong. "I telephoned the housing association and fire service straight away and they were both around very quickly. "The firefighters advised us to get out of the property and stay out. "But we decided to stay as the housing association phoned everywhere to get us a place to stay, but because it was so late they couldn't get anything. "The engineer who came the next day said we had to leave the flat because it unsafe. Apparently they will have to put a brand new roof on it and that could take weeks. "The housing association were brilliant and you just couldn't fault them. "They were never off the phone trying to find us a place to stay and were very supportive throughout." The drama happened at around 9.20pm on Tuesday. Tyne & Wear Fire Service initially sent a crew from Whitley Bay to the house. But once the fire officer in charge realised what was happening, a specialist crew from South Tyneside were dispatched to make the building as safe as possible using props to hold the roof up. It is believed the concrete tiled roof was too heavy for the rafters and trusses and over time this has put great strain on the roof timbers, causing them to collapse. Previous owners had also installed a dormer dormer Window set vertically in a structure that projects from a sloping roof. It often illuminates a bedroom. In the late Gothic and early Renaissance periods, elaborate masonry dormers were designed. bedroom in the loft space. Now owned by Riverside Housing Association North East, the property will need to be re-roofed before the Starkeys will be allowed back in their home. Steve Ward, managing director of Riverside North East, said: "Due to the time this happened it was initially very difficult to find any accommodation. "However, we have been in contact with the council and they have found the couple a three-bedroom house. "We had a structural engineer on site who carried out a total survey of the property to assess what the long-term solution is and what the cause of the structural failure was. "Once he has reported back to us we will get the property sorted out." |
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