Hemel woman criticises council's lack of urgency after part of ceiling falls through from heavy rain

A woman has criticised the lack of urgency from Dacorum Borough Council after part of her ceiling collapsed from the heavy rain in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Angeline Pynaert, of Burleigh Road, Hemel Hempstead, found part of her ceiling had fallen in when she went to bed on Saturday night.

She said: "I went up to bed at about 12.10am and the ceiling had fallen in from the rain. I called the council and they said there was nothing they could do at that time of the night.

"I called again yesterday morning and they said there was nothing they could do, I said I had contacted the papers and Mike Penning and then someone came out.

"He said what do you want me to do about it, I said I want you to make it safe, he pulled a few loose bits off and put them in the bucket that was catching water and that was all.

"I called again first thing this morning and my housing officer was chasing it, I have now, 2 hours later, received an email to say they have raised it as an emergency.

"It has ruined my bed, half the bed is soaked, there's fibreglass on the bed and floor, it's a mess.

"This should have been sorted straight away, it has taken to nearly midday today, to get a reply to say that it has been raised as an emergency.

"I'm not well and the cold and damp will not make that any better."

The roof has now been repaired and the ceiling has been temporarily fixed.

A spokesperson for Dacorum Borough Council said: "We have undertaken a full investigation into the timeline for the initial report and subsequent attendance of the repairs contractor, Osborne Property Services.

"Unless a roof leak is the result of escape of water from a burst pipe, when the supply can be isolated, the out of hours service is make safe and in this case the issue arose from a roof leak, which would not generally be attended to outside of working hours.

"Each case is reviewed by the call centre to establish if there are any health and safety issues, which need to be attended as an emergency.

"We sent an officer on Monday morning to visit the tenant and agree the next steps to get the repairs undertaken. It was not considered necessary to move the tenant to an alternative property at this stage.

"The repairs works have already started to undertake the replacement of the ceiling as the leak came through a slipped tile and roof felt split.

"We would like to apologise for the inconvenience that the tenant has experienced and we will work with the tenant to keep further disruption to a minimum."

Angeline added: "I'm glad it is now finally getting sorted but it should not have taken that long, it should have been made safe straight away.

"I'm still having to sleep on the sofa at the moment as the council took the bedding and duvet that was damaged, and I don't have spare quilt or pillows. They have offered £250."