We thought the roof was falling in

Sharon Thompson • Published 26 Nov 2009 13:14 0 Comments

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A TERRIFIED elderly couple thought their house was "falling in" on Sunday night after horrific weather dislodged roughcast which came crashing down on their roof.

But the couple, both aged 75, say this was not the first time they have had to suffer the terror as it has happened to them FOUR times previously.

Mr and Mrs Kelly have lived in their Maitland Court home for the last 31 years, and in the last five years their roof has been damaged as many times by falling stonework.

James Kelly and his wife, Selena, are only the third tenants to rent their flat in the town centre block.

Shortly after 5.30pm on Sunday, James had put his wife - who suffers from dementia - to bed and headed back downstairs.

He described the moments shortly afterwards.

"The first thing I heard was a huge bang and then screaming so I raced upstairs to my wife's room.

"She had obviously leapt up with fright and went to put the light on, but she had fallen over and has injured her leg, it's covered in bad bruises."

James said that the situation, now on its fifth occurrence, is "beyond a joke".

He said: "The next bout of heavy rain will only make the problem worse

"It's a waiting game because we know it will happen again, we just don't know when."

Selena, who is known to her friends as 'Lina', has been left visibly shaken by the incident.

She told the Advertiser that she has been too scared to go up to the room again.

She said: "I was screaming and crying because I was frightened and I had hurt myself.

"I thought the house was falling in."

According to James, the first time it happened there was only a small amount of roughcast that fell, between three and four feet, but each time it just gets bigger and bigger, as our picture shows.

Mr Kelly phoned ACHA's emergency helpline and phoned again on Monday morning.

But he said no-one came to the house to put up fencing to surround the rubble, and he was forced to contact the police because he felt it was a health and safety hazard.

He added that after the police arrived, workers came to erect railings to fence off the roughcast.

"I had to put safety first; there are kids that play in the corridor downstairs and they could have been hurt."

Workers repairing their home on Monday afternoon told James the extent of the damage and that holes had been left in his roof by the falling stones.

They worked into the darkness to ensure that his house was watertight before the end of the night, and James said that each time the workers come they have to replace dozens of tiles.

But James feels he has been left in a no-win situation.

"We have been told that nothing can be done because the tenants that have bought their houses won't meet the council half way on the cost of repairs."

Argyll Community Housing Association chief executive Alistair McGregor said on Tuesday: "We sent our staff yesterday (Monday) to clear up debris.

"We sectioned the area off and carried out emergency repairs.

"ACHA is trying throughout Argyll and Bute to encourage private tenants to sign up to factoring agreements, but no such agreement exists for the property concerned."

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