A BASINGSTOKE mum has been left frustrated after her kitchen ceiling came crashing down in the night after her housing association “ignored her repeated complaints about a leak”.

Jane Radwell, 53, of Pinkerton Road, said the ceiling fell in the middle of the night earlier this month, “making a right mess and leaving damaged stuff everywhere”.

But Jane, who has wheezing problems, said she was still lucky. Had it fallen during the daytime when she was cooking, it would have probably crashed on her head.

Jane said the ceiling crashed after her housing association Sovereign ignored her requests for two years to fix the leak.

“I had the new bathroom and kitchen fixed about five years ago, and I have been getting brown marks on my kitchen ceiling ever since,” Jane said.

“Although I complained about a leak, they kept putting it down to my cooking.”

However, it turned out that Jane was right all the time, but it came at a cost.

“They (Sovereign) were adamant that there was no leak and the stains were just from cooking. On the May bank holiday, my kitchen ceiling fell at half-past one in the night, making a right mess and leaving damaged staff everywhere. And Sovereign is just an absolute nightmare to get things done.”

The crash in the night woke Jane’s daughter from her sleep because her bedroom was the closest to the kitchen.

“It made such a loud noise,” Jane said.

“In the morning, I had to wait for a few hours before a plumber and a carpenter came out. The plumber sorted out the bathroom and he confirmed that there was a leak. Later a carpenter came out and tidied up all the mess from the ceiling.

“But there's still a lot of rubble and pipes hanging from the ceiling which could come out anytime. I have to keep clearing concrete from my sides every day. I try not to stand in that corner just in case it does eventually come down.”

Despite these precautions, Jane said she had a fall in the bathroom last week.

“There are still some lumps in the bathroom, and I had a fall in there last week.

“I'm still waiting for someone to get back to me with my complaints.”

Jane said it was her parents’ house and she grew up in it. She has been living in it with her husband and kids for the past 21 years.

Alec Pegram, Head of Property Operations South, Sovereign said: “We investigated the cause, made sure the leak was contained and the property was safe on the same day the customer reported the incident.

“We’re sorry the subsequent repair work hasn’t happened as fast as we would have liked. We’re now in contact with the resident to complete the repairs.”

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