Properties within a block of flats became submerged in water after a sprinkler system was accidentally set off. Residents now claim they are being 'ignored and mistreated by their local council after the leak caused ‘irreversible damage’ to their Birmingham homes.
An investigation by the LDRS, reported by BirminghamLive, found at least five residents with homes in Campion House drenched after a wallpaper stripper accidentally melted the seal on a sprinkler system in April this year. Consequently, a water tank on the roof of the high-rise apartments flooded into their properties, causing various amounts of damage.
Such is the scale of damage caused, some residents have been housed in temporary hotels and care homes as far away as Wylde Green while repairs take place. Charlene Lyness, from Birmingham, said her father, Stan French, had been living in Campion House for 17 years.
She said the stress caused by the damaged pipes, and the lack of council will to remediate damage, have left him “crying his eyes out”. She said: “We were told he was going to be looked after in Pebble Mill, in Edgbaston, but they had to place him in a care home in Wylde Green, which is wholly unsuitable.
"He initially refused because it was so far away but he had to take it. Before that, he was placed in a temporary hotel - one of them in Caldmore in Walsall.
"It’s just not right that the council can treat us like this.” Her father, Ms Lyness said, has stage three bowel cancer and stage two lung cancer. She anticipates the council will ask her father to stay at his home, rather than make good on his request to be rehoused in a bungalow complete with a wetroom.
Documents also show Mr French’s consultant has warned Birmingham city council that if he returns to the flat, his ongoing chemotherapy “would likely be compounded by living in cold and damp conditions”. Ms Lyness said that council workers at Birmingham city council attended to the property by placing dehumidifiers in different rooms of the flat to get rid of excess dampness.
She said it added around £150 to her father’s electricity bill. She said: “They tried to give us £200 in compensation, but that doesn’t cover the damage.
"This carpet was glued to the floor it was that wet. Even when he came back after a week of staying in hotels, his bedroom was still soaking wet.
"He only noticed it when he got out of bed the next day.” Justine Brown, another resident who lives at Campion House, said her bedroom was so flooded that items under her bed were “absolutely black with mould”.
She said: “This happened on April 22nd this year, and we are now in December. Nobody has asked any questions, nobody has given me any assistance. I feel I have been completely abandoned and treated really carelessly.
“I was told by my social worker I would receive £200 in compensation from the Northfield community partnership but the funds are closed. We have to wait until January to reapply.
"He said the warden should never have promised me the money because it wasn’t guaranteed in the first place.” Pamela Bennett said she was housed in ten different hotels while work took place to fix her flat.
She said: “It affects you it really does. I’m still not settled back at my flat. Because I work I haven’t got time to dwell on the traumatic side of what it left behind. Fortunately, I have content insurance but I haven’t got back half of what was destroyed."
Ms Bennett claimed she was offered £5,000 by the council. When she questioned where the money had come from, the council told her it had come from a charity.
“I said I could not accept it because it was unofficial. It was money that was donated for a purpose [...] It’s an insult to all of us. They are offering money to compensate for their guilt.”
Kester Sleeman, chair of ACORN Birmingham, a tenants union, said: "We see persistent issues of disrepair in council properties in the form of damp and mould, concerns around fire safety, broken appliances, and much more. Members who come to us have always exhausted all of the 'official' channels to resolve these issues, and are desperate with nowhere else to turn.
“It's unacceptable that local authorities are failing to maintain their duty of care to their residents, who are often the most vulnerable members of our communities.” A spokesperson for Birmingham city council said: “The sprinkler system was unfortunately activated within this block due to a tenant using an appliance which got so hot it melted the seal on the sprinkler head.
“This activated it as they are designed to melt at a certain temperature. As a result a number of properties were flooded and we put all the people directly affected in temporary accommodation. We are now working with each of them to complete repairs to their flats.
“We would like to reiterate that tenants should not be using wallpaper steamers or other appliances which release extreme heat that can trigger the sprinklers and potentially pose a risk to the fabric of the building and impact other tenants. Help for all tenants struggling with the cost of living crisis is available via our website helpinbrum https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/helpinbrum and a leaflet which includes advice on mould will soon be going out to tenants.”
