Mum says ceiling leak could have killed baby

A woman from Merseyside has said water leaking "like a power shower" through her ceiling "could have killed my baby" and has forced her to leave her flat.

After returning to the property off Hope Street, Liverpool, earlier this month, Vicky Hughes said she heard water rushing into her four-month-old son’s room.

She said the damage at the address was "dangerous" and had destroyed her two children's possessions.

A spokesperson for the Riverside Group, which manages the home, apologised to Ms Hughes, adding: "We remain committed to resolving her concerns about matters affecting her home."

Ms Hughes told The Local Democracy Reporting Service the ongoing dispute with the housing association had forced her to leave the property.

"The damp started on the ceiling and I was assured something would be done four times.

'It destroyed everything'

“I have a four-month-old son and, when he was just two weeks old, water began leaking from the outside wall into the sockets and wrecked the carpet in his room.

“We’re having to sleep on my sister’s couch in Aintree," she said.

Referring to the ceiling leak, she said: “It’s dangerous, it’s my baby’s room - it could have killed my baby.

“It was like a power shower coming through and they keep telling me all sorts."

She says a square of plasterboard has since been put over the gap where the leak was but work remains to be done in the property, which she says has caused her to move out with her children until they feel it is safe to return.

“It went all over his toys and his sister’s. It destroyed everything," she added.

'Emergency visit'

In a statement, a spokesperson for Riverside Housing said: “We want to reassure Ms Hughes that we remain committed to resolving her concerns about matters affecting her home.

"On Thursday 17 October, we made an emergency visit to Ms Hughes’ flat following a report of a bedroom ceiling collapse.

“Upon inspection, we found that the ceiling had not fallen through and remained secure, but that a water stain could be seen.

"With Ms Hughes’ worries in mind, we arranged for the water stain to be removed and replaced with new plasterboard the same day.”

The spokesperson said they believe the issue to be caused by the internal gutters connected to the upstairs flat and that a visit for Friday had been arranged to investigate findings.

They added: “We are sorry that Ms Hughes has continued to experience these issues within her home."