‘I AM lucky to be alive’.

That is the verdict from a Southampton teenager who escaped almost unharmed when his bedroom ceiling collapsed.

Kyler Young from Tangmere Drive was about to fall asleep when a huge chunk of the ceiling above his head came crashing down, leaving his room scattered with chunks of plaster and debris.

His mum Teresa had concerns for some time that the mould in their three-bedroom house could cause problems, but she had no idea that it would lead to part of the ceiling collapsing.

Kyler spoke of the moment it happened.

He said: “I was about to fall asleep and I just heard a loud creaking noise coming from the attic.”

“I got up and had a look, and then I realised that something was wrong and within minutes of me seeing that, I saw the cracks appearing and water started to seep through.

“I knew I had to get everything out of my room and my friend came in to help me.

“We were in the middle of moving stuff out and it just gave way, it hit me on the head hard and my friend also got hit, but he protected himself with his shoulder.

“I remember it sounding like thunder.

“I could have died if I had stayed in bed and been asleep, as a lot of the plaster ended up where I sleep.”

Fortunately for Kyler, he only had a small bruise on his head, while his friend damaged his shoulder.

Now Kyler is too scared to sleep in his room and feels that the ceiling could cave in at anytime – anywhere in the three-bedroom house.

The family had complained to Western Challenge housing association about mould months before, but due to a family bereavement, had not followed up their complaint.

A statement from Western Challenge said that they had not received an earlier complaint about the property, and that a contractor is now working to make the property safe.

A spokeswoman, said: “From our initial investigation it would appear that debris was lodged in an external roof vent which allowed water to gain access into the roof space and damage the bedroom ceiling.

“We are working with the resident to identify the possible causes of the mould within the room.

“It could be due to a number of factors including condensation through lack of ventilation or a roof leak.”