‘Please don’t make me raise my baby in a leaky nursery’

Expectant mum’s plea for her roof to be fixed

‘When the water comes through the ceiling it is brown and smells horrid’

A heavily pregnant woman is having to put buckets down in her unborn baby’s nursery due to a chronic leak in her flat. Alice Bishop, of Westree Court in Maidstone, says she now dreads it raining, knowing it won’t be long before dirty, smelly water begins to drip from her ceiling.

The mum-of-one, who has experienced leaks in her top-floor apartment on and off for four years, said the problem started up again in April.

She told the Kent Messenger that despite calling her housing provider, The Hyde Group, several times, no work is underway to fix it.

The 24-year-old, who is due to give birth to a baby girl in less than six weeks, said: “I called them up and some workmen came and said it was actually the roof on the block of flats. “They normally give it a temporary fix and then it starts again but they haven’t even done that. “They told me that, where it is made of rubber, they would need to replace the whole roof to stop the leak permanently.

“I have been calling twice a week and nobody has come out.” Due to water seeping in every time it rains, the ceiling in her lounge and four-year-old son Freddie’s room have started to go mouldy.

She added: “The leak is getting worse and worse and it stinks. “It really stresses me out and I have a baby coming.

“It will be her room as well. I don’t know how I’m going to put the cot in there. I always have a bucket down just in case and when the water comes through it is brown and smells horrid. “It should be an exciting time but this is always on my mind and I dread it every time it rains.” Responsive operations manager for Hyde, Mark Warren, said: “We attended the home on Westree Court in May, when we first became aware of this leak. “We established that there appears to be a leak from the roof into a bedroom, which requires substantive works to fix.

“We have now received a quote for the work, which will involve identifying where on the roof the water is getting in, stripping off the existing roofing and then renewing the roofing felt.

“We anticipate starting this work as soon as possible and are currently in the process of confirming with our contractor when they can attend and start the work.

“Previous to the leak in the roof, Ms Bishop had a leak via her balcony door. We investigated and completed the works.”