An expectant mother has been left traumatised and in severe pain after falling down stairs covered in rubble in council owned accommodation.

Cherie Gibson, 28, whilst waiting to be housed by the council was put in temporary accommodation at a Hanger Lane Hostel.

On October 13 she fell down a flight of stairs which were covered in rubble from work being carried out on the ceiling by a contractor apparently hired by the council.

Cherie Gibson immediately after falling in Hanger Lane Hostel

Miss Gibson who was six months pregnant at the time, claims that no warning notices or safety procedures had been used.

The expectant mother slipped a disc in her back during the fall and had to be hospitalised for two weeks. She had planned to have a home birth but due to the injury she now must have the baby at hospital.

Miss Gibson said: “It was horrific. I was terrified that I had lost my baby. I could not move after the fall as I was in so much pain. The builder became irate with me as the ambulance took over an hour to turn up which meant he couldn’t work as I could not be moved from the bottom of the stairs. By the time my partner, Bradley Harrison, turned up the builder was trying to force me to move. The police had to be called in the end. It looked like he was just pulling the ceiling down on top of the stairs with absolutely no safety procedures in place or warning signs. I must have slipped on the rubble and fell down the last four stairs.

“I’ve struggled to sleep since as I have nightmares about loosing the baby. The pain is constant and I can’t now have the birth I wanted. It’s caused such pain and stress I just can’t believe how negligent the council have been. I could have lost my baby or been killed. I was a care worker before the fall but have not been able to work since.”

The temporary accommodation in Hanger Lane is owned and run by the council and on October 13 a contractor had been brought in by the authority to do building work.

An Injury Lawyers for you spokesman said: “We can confirm that we have taken on the case and we have written to Ealing Council on behalf of our client Cherie Gibson`who we are representing on this matter.”

The council have confirmed that they own and are responsible for the Hanger Lane Hostel and that they had hired a contractor for that period to do work inside the property. A council spokeswoman said: “We are aware of an alleged incident which has been passed to our insurers to investigate. Because of this we are unable to comment further at this stage.”