Ceiling falls on Nottingham couple while they slept after leak wasn't fixed by council

Daniel and Emma Newham, from Basford, thought their belongings in the attic would fall on top of them too

A Nottingham couple thought they were going to die as the ceiling in their council house bedroom collapsed on top of them while they were asleep. Daniel and Emma Newham, 38 and 39, have lived in their council house in Gayhurst Green, Basford with their three children aged 13, 15 and 16 since 2018.

The couple had been complaining to Nottingham City Council about a leak in their roof since this time last year. No repairs were carried out, however, and following the heavy rain in the last few weeks, the ceiling in the pair's bedroom collapsed on top of them while they were asleep.

The incident, which took place on Monday, September 30, left the couple "frightened to death". Mr Newham, who works as a bus driver, said: "We thought it was the end of our lives because we have items inside the attic and thought they would fall on top of us.

"It’s disgraceful how the council have handled this, they should’ve done a lot better in trying to help us. It’s disgusting they haven’t done anything for a year and now we’ve got to this point."

The couple now has to sleep on a mattress in the living room of their three-bedroom home. "It's very uncomfortable but we have no other choice. It’s frightening the children as well.

"We've been complaining for a year about the leak and all we got from the council were excuses such as being short-staffed. It's ruined our furniture and carpets and now the ceiling fell on us, we're at our wit's end," added Mr Newham.

Following the collapse, the couple called the council and when a contractor was sent out to inspect the issue, they were told the ceiling might have asbestos in it. The authority has now confirmed that work will be carried out starting from Monday, October 7.

A Nottingham City Council spokesperson said: "We appreciate the difficult situation that Mr Newham and his partner are in, and are doing all we can to remedy it. We visited the property yesterday (October 3) and spoke to Mr Newham and his partner.

"We also cleared the area inside the house, including the affected section of ceiling. The property will be scaffolded by the end of today (Octiber 4) in preparation for the works to be carried out to the roof, gutters and solar panels on Monday.

"We will then remove existing loft insulation and install new and repair the ceiling across next week."