Calls to demolish flats after flood evacuation

Danika-Mae Patterson said she and her children were terrified when they encountered the flooding on Wednesday

Residents have called for the demolition of a flooded tower block that has been the subject of safety complaints for years.

The 15-storey Brisbane House in Tilbury, Essex, was evacuated on Wednesday evening because of a burst water main on the roof.

People from Brisbane House, and the two neighbouring tower blocks, have signed an online petition and claimed there have already been complaints about leaks, electrical faults, heating and dampness.

The leader of Thurrock Council, which manages the high-rise block, said she was "so sorry" to the people affected.

Residents have been in temporary accommodation since the flood.

Danika-Mae Patterson, who has lived in the building for eight years, pleaded with the council: "Please take everyone's concerns seriously.

"We are real people trying to live real lives and trying to make a positive change for our children's lives and we can't do it in those flats. It's impossible."

'Like a waterfall'

The 30-year-old admin worker said she felt complaints in the past had not been taken seriously.

On Wednesday, she was returning home with her two young children - one who has additional needs - when they encountered the flood.

"I'm extremely stressed at the minute," she told the BBC.

"It was literally like a waterfall coming down the stairs... I managed to get up to my property and I was just really frightened to be honest, and really upset and angry.

"[My children] started crying immediately.

"They were worried about their pets, they were worried about their belongings."

She continued: "I'm worried about my children's future now. I'm worried that we're going to be displaced again."

She said damp and mould had ruined two chests of drawers and an "entire bag of clothes" in the past.

"I would like those flats to be demolished and I would actually like everyone inside to be moved to a safer and a more appropriate accommodation for them and their families," she said.

Fire crews were called to Brisbane House on Wednesday evening

Amanda Tooey said the woman living below her was experiencing a water leak for about three years before it was discovered it was coming from Ms Tooey's airing cupboard.

"By then her flat had been completely destroyed," she told the BBC.

The 31-year-old said she had experienced mould and damp in her own flat.

Claire Heath, 45, the woman who lives below her, said the leak from her neighbour's flat was "coming down through the light in our toilet and bathroom, and then we had a puddle of water on the floor".

The water supply was switched off to the neighbouring blocks of Freemantle House and Tasmania House following Wednesday's flood, because the pump is located at Brisbane House.

Rosie Leeman - from Freemantle House - started the petition.

She said flats had been "riddled" with damp and mould, which she suspected had aggravated her child's "very severe eczema".

Ms Patterson took photos of her ceiling leaking in October

Thurrock Council said there had been 258 repairs at 192 flats across the three blocks since April 2024.

All of them were resolved within their target timescale, a spokesperson said.

They said it was working with the occupants of all 64 flats at Brisbane House, assisting with emergency accommodation and the collection of their belongings.

The council said it set up an information centre at Tilbury Library and community hub to support residents.

Labour leader at Thurrock Council Lynn Worrall told BBC Essex presenter Sonia Watson it was distressing to hear about Ms Patterson's experience and offered to speak with her personally.

"This is absolutely distressing for those families that are displaced by this, because it is an emergency," she said.

She said there was no link between the recent flood from "the main tank on the roof" and historical leaks in individual flats.