My ceiling could fall down at any moment and I live in fear of it landing on my young daughter

An Edinburgh resident is fearing for the safety of his young daughter after a section of his living room ceiling collapsed following a leak in a neighbouring flat.

The 26-year-old resident, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Evening News he first reported the water damage to the council last Thursday, before a part of ceiling fell through just days later.

But one week on, the single father said he is yet to hear when repairs will be carried out and fears more sections of the ceiling could crumble apart.

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He said: “The council are leaving me and my six-year-old daughter in a temp house like this where the roof has fell down and the rest could fall down at any moment injuring me or my daughter.”

A section of the living room ceiling was substantially damaged following a water leak placeholder image
A section of the living room ceiling was substantially damaged following a water leak | Submitted

The Lochend resident said he noticed a leak in his living room on Thursday, June 12 and after contacting the council repairs team, he learned the water damaged ceiling was caused from a burst pipe in a top floor flat.

But workers then advised him they were unable to carry out a full repair as the ceiling may contain asbestos, and instead cleaned up the mess and left buckets to contain the dripping water. But days later, a section of the ceiling collapsed onto the living room floor.

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He said: “When I first phoned the council they kept telling me to contain the leak, but I couldn’t contain it - it was a nightmare. The lights bulbs had filled up with water and I was filling up mop buckets hourly.

The resident said the situation 'was a nightmare' and he 'was filling up mop buckets hourly'placeholder image
The resident said the situation 'was a nightmare' and he 'was filling up mop buckets hourly' | Submitted

“When they came out over the weekend after a section of the ceiling caved in, they made some temporary repairs, but I can see upstairs into the neighbour's house, the whole ceiling needs to be replaced because it’s falling to pieces.

“I’ve gone out to the council offices twice to try and get a decant flat but I was told the one I’m in is still liveable. They also offered to put us up in hotels, but they’re miles away and no good for getting my daughter to school. I don't drive so I need to be close to her school – that’s one of the reasons I moved here.

“But now the living room is dangerous and the water coming through is really smelly. My daughter is unhappy with the situation and she mostly stays in her room now.”

The City of Edinburgh Council advised the leak has been fixed with a repair due to be carried out on Friday, June 20.

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