Property crash! The £1million house that collapsed overnight
A LUXURY home on a millionaires row came tumbling down yesterday in a scene reminiscent of an earthquake.
Neighbours fled their homes after hearing a large bang at 1am yesterday and seeing a cloud of dust fill the air as the house was reduced to rubble.
Days before, builders from a company called Mega Plus Lebanon Ltd had been carrying out work on the property.
Planning documents show that the owner had permission to add a basement with a large play area, a single bedroom and bathroom.
Many of the bedrooms upstairs would also have featured walk-in wardrobes.
However, it emerged yesterday that work was being carried out without the council’s full approval of building regulations.
Kingston Council in south west London yesterday said it had referred the case to the Health and Safety Executive to investigate.
The four-bedroom property is a short walk from Richmond Park with the average house on the road worth £1.37million.
Mother-of-two Sharon Gouhar, 55, woke to the sound of a huge bang and her 16year-old daughter screaming.
She said: ‘It sounded like a car crash. It sounded as though cars had collided and then went into someone’s house. Then I heard my daughter come crying from her room. She said her room shook. We looked outside, it was full of smoke.’
The family called the police and were then evacuated as officers went door to door waking up residents and the fire brigade rushed to the scene.
Rattan Garrow- Fisher, 80, who lives opposite, said she thought that continued digging underneath the property could have caused the structure to collapse.
She added: ‘If it had happened during the day the workmen would have been digging there.’
Official documents show that Omar Alajaji, believed to be a doctor from Saudi Arabia, had applied for permission to change the house but Land Registry records say it was purchased by Islamic Al Rayan Bank in London in November.
Work was being carried out by Mega Plus Lebanon Ltd, based in North London. A spokesman for the company said he was ‘with the police’ and unable to speak yesterday.
Councillor David Cunningham from Kingston Council said: ‘The owners of this building submitted a building regulations application just two days ago and have therefore carried out works without our guidance and approval.’