A grandfather whose bedroom ceiling collapsed due to a leak he first reported seven months earlier has criticised housing chiefs for failing to act sooner.
A large patch of plaster crashed onto the floor of Keith Bland's bedsit, in The Grove, Isleworth, during the early hours of Monday, April 28, narrowly missing him and his wide as they lay sleeping. The damage was caused by a leaky shower in the flat above.
The 68-year-old accountant claims he first reported the leak to Hounslow Homes, which manages council housing in the borough, on September 27.
Although a workman was sent to investigate, he was unable to gain access at the time to the flat above, and Mr Bland says no action was taken.
"If my wife or I had been walking to the toilet when the ceiling collapsed, we could have been seriously injured," he said.
"The problem could easily have been fixed back in September but it was left to get worse, which is unacceptable. They're happy to put your rent up by £4.70 a week but when it comes to doing anything for that money they're far too slow to act."
Hounslow Homes did send someone to repair the leak on the evening after the collapse and Mr Bland's ceiling was repaired and repainted by the following Tuesday (May 6).
A spokeswoman for Hounslow Homes said: "We have checked through repairs record and cannot identify reports of a leak prior to that on 28 April however if this was due to an administration error on our part we wish to convey our apologies to Mr Bland."
