Flats uninhabitable for three more months

Brooke House was built between 1960 and 1962, originally to provide accommodation for professionals, such as lawyers and doctors

Tower block residents have been told their homes will remain "uninhabitable" for another three months because of further flooding.

People living in Brooke House in Basildon were evicted after flooding in the basement car park on 18 July.

Basildon Council, which owns the building, said it would be uninhabitable until about November while repairs took place.

In a letter seen by the BBC, leaseholders have been told they will not have access for a further three months because of a "significant water leak" on 1 October. The council was contacted for comment.

Ms Daka said her 10-year-old son has been scared of lifts since the flood

Resident Mutale Daka said not only had she been "uprooted from our home" but that she did not have a permanent address to provide while applying for her son's secondary school.

"It's all up in the air," said the 31-year-old midwife.

"I need a proper plan going forward because I need some stability for my son."

Ms Daka said her 10-year-old feared he was going to die when they walked out of the tower block lift into floodwater on 18 July.

She said he was scared to use the lift in their temporary home.

"He's nervous around lifts now," she explained.

"I don't want to put my son in that position ever again.

"It's just been a whole lot of stress and trauma just going back in there after what happened. I don't think my son will be able to go back... putting him back in that lift again is going to be like regressing backwards."

Another resident, who chose to remain anonymous, said the letter was the first time they had been told about the latest flood, and they received no other communication from the council.

Some residents took a lift to the basement on 18 July, where they were met with severe flooding

The letter read: "Basildon Council now anticipates that Brooke House will remain uninhabitable for up to a further three months from the date of this letter [3 November], until we are confident as a landlord that we will be able to confirm when the building will be safe to enter/occupy."

Residents collecting their belongings or feeding their pets were told the building would be shut off from 14 November.