| Albert McInroy (72) and his wife Margaret fell ill while their son-in-law collapsed in the street — they blame an escape of carbon monoxide from a pipe for their suffering.
The problem was put right ten days ago but Mrs McInroy is still unwell and unable to leave her home.
The McInroys’ move into the flat in Clepington Road did not run smoothly, as reported by the Evening Telegraph last month.
Plumbing and other repairs they asked to be carried out when they inspected their new home were not put right. They had to endure a weekend without a fully functioning bathroom — an ordeal for Mrs McInroy who suffers from arthritis.
The day after a story on the undone repairs appeared in the Tele, council workmen arrived at the house to fix the problems.
Mr McInroy continued, “We hoped that would be the end of it but over the next couple of weeks we were both feeling out of sorts. We thought it might be due to moving to the new house but we weren’t feeling well. My wife was worse than I was, because she is asthmatic, as well as arthritic.
“We weren’t sure what was going on until one day, our son-in-law, after doing some odd-jobs for us, collapsed in the street a few hundred yards from the house.
“He is a fit man and was walking home but came over all light-headed and collapsed.”
The next day the couple’s warden visited and said straight away there was a smell of gas.
Mr McInroy continued, “I phoned the council and Transco, and Transco came up and located the leak in a pipe behind the cooker. They fixed it, but my wife is still not feeling better. She doesn’t want to get up in the morning, which is unlike her.”
Mr McInroy is angry that their house was not properly checked before being declared ready for their occupation.
He explained, “It was bad enough not having a toilet seat and the other problems in the bathroom, but for there to have been a gas leak is ridiculous. I’ve spoken to the council and they have said that gas is the responsibility of Transco, which is maybe true enough, but this is not right.”
A spokesman for the city council said, “There are mandatory safety checks on gas, electricity and water services in our properties before they are re-let, and there are also checks on appliances if the appliances are owned by the council.”
A spokeswoman for Transco said, “On December 11 we received a call at 2.37pm and arrived on site at 2.50pm. The engineer located a small escape at a cooker connection, and made it safe by cutting and capping the pipework.
“He vented the property before leaving. It is the responsibility of the homeowner or landlord to ensure gas appliances are properly mainta ined and inspected by an appropriate registered engineer.” |
