Desperate mum dials 999 after her ceiling collapses

A mother and her two daughters were sitting in their living room one night when the ceiling collapsed around them.

Rebecca Purnell, 54, claims leaky pipes were to blame for the disaster – as her rented home in Birkenhead was plagued by problems which led to visits from three plumbers in just eight days.

She said: “The ceilings are black with mould. The roof is full of mold and smells of dampness. Recently, the ceiling in the living room fell in due to the bathroom leak.

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“One of my daughters has a big gap in her window where it won’t close properly. The other girl’s bedroom absolutely smells like damp.”

Rebecca, a barista, claims she recently made “at least 10” complaints to property management company Leef, which sent plumbers to her home. However, she claims that the workers who came to inspect the property never returned to carry out the necessary work and that what has been done so far has not fixed the leaks and the subsequent dampness and mould.

She said: “We are still sitting with water coming through the ceiling. There are three girls who live here. We haven’t had access to anywhere to shower this week. The bathroom is there, but we can’t use the shower; and I can not. I use the bathroom because of arthritis in my back.

“I suffer so badly from anxiety. It’s really affecting my mental health. I’ve just made another appointment with the doctors because I feel like it’s making me sick from the humidity. I suffer with my eyes and my breathing. My little girl coughs all the time time”.

She added that she had been in touch with Environmental Health more than two years ago with her concerns about the house, but “gave up” after getting nowhere. But the situation became impossible to ignore after the ceiling in the living room fell in the middle of the night.

She said: “It’s been going on for years and I foolishly carried on as if nothing was happening for a while. I suppose I closed my eyes, but it just keeps getting worse.

“I can’t believe the ceiling has fallen. About two weeks ago, I was sitting in the living room and it exploded. Obviously I was in shock. It was just me and the kids and I didn’t know. what to do. There is no one to call, no emergency number. I even called the police because I didn’t know how many more were going to come, if not more, but they didn’t come at that time of night, I just had to put blankets and sheets to catch the debris.

“When I first moved in, the house was under a different agency. All the houses nearby were under the same owner. They were fantastic. Unfortunately the owner died and all the houses were sold to different people. It’s been about eight years. and since then it went downhill.

“I just feel like we’ve done everything we can and we’re still sitting here in the mess. I’m no further along than I was a few years ago.”

Leef Properties has been contacted for comment.

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