Apology over inside-out windows on tower blocks

The error happened while work was being done to replace cladding

Residents of two tower blocks in north London have described their shock after discovering replacement window panes had been installed inside out.

People living on the Chalcots Estate in Swiss Cottage have endured years of building work to remove dangerous cladding the same as that used on Grenfell Tower.

Maryan Nur, 33, told the BBC: "Imagine waiting for all of these years and you think finally you'll come back to your room, your building, your flat and it's inside out. It's terrible, I can't even imagine it."

Camden Council apologised, adding: "This is not a safety concern but will affect the reduction of overheating in the summer so we will be putting this right straight away."

Maryan Nur described the situation as "terrible"

A council spokesperson added: "This corrective work does not extend the overall programme as it can be done simultaneously to the remaining work which needs to be done and will be of no extra cost to the council or the taxpayer."

The external cladding was removed from five tower blocks following fire safety inspections in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster in 2017.

Tests had shown that the cladding used was identical to that at Grenfell.

The local authority has since spent millions of pounds to rectify the cladding. The issue with the windows was first reported by the Ham & High newspaper.

Alketa Aykac said the building work has given her "anxiety"

Another resident, Alketa Aykac, told the BBC: "It's unbelievable. Where is the quality control before handing over the flats?

"It gives me anxiety now due to thinking 'will it happen again to my flat, will it get noticed?' How many things have gone unnoticed?

"It is quite worrying."

Most of the cladding remediation work has been completed across the estate's blocks

Kumari, who lives in one of the blocks affected, said: "Obviously I was shocked.

"I'm not happy about it. When it's windy, we can hear the howling. It's not nice, especially at night when you're trying to sleep."

A Camden Council spokesperson said: "We are contacting the residents who this issue affects to arrange for our contractors to install the glazing correctly.

"Each reinstallation takes about 40 minutes and this will not be noisy work.

"All works on the windows will be checked independently once completed.

"We apologise to the affected residents for this additional work."