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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Alahna Kindred

Family living in hotel after housing association blame cats for leak that caused hole

A family have been living in a hotel after their ceiling collapsed following a leak that their housing association blamed their pet cats for.

Stacey Sell, 39, has been staying at a Premier Inn with her partner Mark Thwaites and her two children for two weeks since the leak damaged their home in Maidstone, Kent.

She said she first noticed an issue back last December after noticing water dripping from the ceiling above her front door and wet patches on the bedroom floor above.

When she reported the leak to Golding Homes they came out and inspected it but said it may be her cats using the bedroom as a bathroom causing the ceiling to leak.

A massive hole appeared in their home after a leak (Courtesy Stacey Sell / SWNS)
The damage caused by a leak at the home of Stacey (Courtesy Stacey Sell / SWNS)

Stacey said work was still not carried out and the leak continued. She then followed up in February after a crack appeared above the door.

She said by March 6 the ceiling collapsed altogether shortly after a hole appeared. One piece narrowly missed one of the kids.

Stacey said: "The hole appeared then over the next couple of days it got bigger.

Stacey claims the housing association blamed the leak on her cats (Courtesy Stacey Sell / SWNS)
Stacey said the debris almost hit her kid (Courtesy Stacey Sell / SWNS)

"When some of the ceilings in the front room fell down there was a nail in it. My son was standing underneath and almost got hit in the head."

Stacey added: "It's all been very stressful. On the day we were told to move out I phoned my boss to say I was needing to take the day off from the stress.

"My partner had to take time off work too."

Stacey and her family have been staying at the hotel for 12 weeks (Courtesy Stacey Sell / SWNS)

Stacey and her family will continue to stay at the Premier Inn until their home is repaired.

Sian Humphreys, Assistant Director of Repairs & Maintenance at Golding Homes, said: "We're very sorry for the inconvenience caused to this family.

"We acted promptly to make the ceiling safe when the issue was first reported to us and further investigation this week has found a hole in a heating pipe.

"We remain focused on making sure the family can return to the comfort of their home as soon as possible.

"Their safety and wellbeing are our primary concerns and we've arranged for them to stay in hotel accommodation while repairs are ongoing."

The Mirror contacted Golding Homes for comment.

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