A Paisley resident fears the tower block in which he lives in could be the ‘new Grenfell’.
The town's Hamilton Court high-rise flats were damaged when an Audi ploughed through a wall and into the launderette on the ground floor on Thursday, August 18.
Peter Campbell told how the crash led to a worrying discovery in the block as the collision caused a fractured gas pipe.
He said: "We just found this out after the crash but the dryers in the laundries are powered by gas.
"I stay on the 15th floor and the smell of gas up here was ridiculous, it was terrible. The fire service was ready to evacuate the building.”
Peter says it’s lucky they did and insisted the consequences of an explosion could have been devastating.
He said: "If it hadn’t have been for the bravery of the firemen going into the building, and hosing that car down, the car would have blown up. If that had happened, how much would have been left of Hamilton Court?"
Peter is worried there will be another incident, saying that this is the fifth time a vehicle has collided with the building.
He wants concrete bollards erected and has asked the council to install safety measures to prevent something like this happening again.
In the meantime, residents are having to get their washing done in the other blocks' launderettes, something Peter says is causing great aggravation for some of Hamilton Court’s older tenants.
"We were told to use other laundries in other high flats," he added. "A lot of the people in Hamilton Court are over 80 or even 90. How are they meant to carry their washing to another block of flats? The council is doing absolutely nothing.”
Peter’s requested that the gas dryers be replaced with electric ones.
"There are maisonettes around about the high flats," he said. "Their laundries are all powered by electricity. This is why we want electric dryers in the high flats. We don’t think gas is a good idea in high rise flats.
"Does Renfrewshire Council want another Grenfell on their hands? They don’t care about the residents."
A Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: “We’re sorry to hear of the resident’s concerns. We pride ourselves on providing tenants and residents with a high-quality service at our multi-storey properties.
“Following the crash, the area was made safe and secure. The launderette services have been reinstated as quickly as possible. Four of the five launderettes are now operational.
“We are working with our partners to identify all further work that is required and we apologise for any convenience.”
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