Residents protest over tower block 'cladding jail'

Residents of the Mill in Ipswich stage the protest outside the buildings administrators

Residents of a tower block have staged a protest saying they have unsellable properties due to unsafe cladding.

Occupants of the Mill on the waterfront in Ipswich gathered outside the offices of the building's administrators, RSM UK, in Bury St Edmunds.

Belinda Cross, who owns a flat in the block, said she was "very frustrated" nothing had been done about the safety issues.

RSM UK said it was trying to "raise the necessary funds to rectify the issues affecting the property".

Belinda Cross said her flat in the block was now worthless

The original developer went into administration in 2009 and the freehold was taken on by RSM UK.

The tower block was later deemed unsafe after gale force winds tore cladding away, and fire hazards were identified following the Grenfell Tower disaster, but have yet to be rectified.

Ms Cross said her flat and that of her daughter's, also in the Mill, were "not worth anything at all - they're totally unsaleable at the moment".

She accused RSM UK of "not actually doing anything or replying to any of our emails and not addressing it".

Russell Qurik from the Mill Leaseholder Association said residents were in "what can only be described as cladding jail, financial purgatory".

The protesters said the administrators had not done anything about the fire safety issues since taking over the building

RSM UK said: "The safety of all residents has been, and continues to be, a key priority."

It said since it took over the site it had " worked hard to find ways to raise the necessary funds to rectify the issues affecting the property and continue to explore all options available to us".

The tower block was damaged in strong winds and issues were discovered following the Grenfell Tower disaster