Council completes repairs after Chesterfield woman forced to live with leaking ceiling for 3 weeks

By Wiktoria Wrzyszcz
Published 19th Jan 2024, 14:29 BST
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Chesterfield Borough Council has repaired a leak after being contacted by the Derbyshire Times because a Chesterfield resident was left ‘worrying for her safety’ for three weeks.

Emma Robinson spotted a leak in the kitchen of her council flat on December 28 and reported it straight away.

She was reassured by Chesterfield Borough Council that the issue would be solved and contractors visited the property.

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They determined the leak was caused by the broken seal around the bath in the flat upstairs and told Emma the leak was fixed. But three weeks later the ceiling was still wet and ropping water.

Emma was forced to live with a leak in her council for three weeks before the council solved the issue.Emma was forced to live with a leak in her council for three weeks before the council solved the issue.
Emma was forced to live with a leak in her council for three weeks before the council solved the issue.

Emma said: “The ceiling is still leaking and I had workmen coming out three times over the last few weeks. They kept saying it had to dry out. But the leak is not fixed and the ceiling is absolutely saturated, water is dripping.

"It’s affecting all my flat, water has caused a lot of damage and dump. I’m afraid it will affect electrics. I have standing water on top of my fridge, and all over my boiler. It’s leaking where all the wires are in the wall.

"The council sent the electrician who didn't even check a socket, he just tapped on a wall and said my electrics were fine. How does he know? I think it’s dangerous.

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"I've had an inspector come out last week. He said he was going to chase this as he wasn't happy how I was left. But no one had contacted me for a week and I had to call again and explain what the issue was. It’s ridiculous.”

The ceiling was saturated and the water was dripping all over the fridge and boiler, leaving Emma worrying about the safety of her electrics.The ceiling was saturated and the water was dripping all over the fridge and boiler, leaving Emma worrying about the safety of her electrics.
The ceiling was saturated and the water was dripping all over the fridge and boiler, leaving Emma worrying about the safety of her electrics.

After Derbyshire Times had contacted Chesterfield Borough Council regarding Emma’s complaints on January 16, the issue was solved two days later.

A spokesperson for Chesterfield Borough Council said: “As a responsible landlord, the safety of our tenants is our top priority and we aim to complete any repairs as soon as possible.

“Following reports of a leak in the flat above Ms Robinson’s property our team has been attempting to visit the flat to fix the leak and can confirm that the works have been completed on 18 January.

“Whilst waiting for access to repair the leak, our team visited Ms Robinson's property and completed works to ensure the roofing and electrics in her property were safe.”