Westminster mother-of-two’s ceiling collapses 48 hours after council said it was safe

By Jacob Phillips, Local Democracy Reporter

A woman has been forced to sleep on a mattress in her living room with her disabled daughter after their ceiling collapsed.

The day before Andie William’s ceiling collapsed, Westminster City council, who manage repairs in the building, had said a leak in her bedroom was safe.

Andie has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after her ceiling repeatedly leaked for 12 years.

She now shares a room with her 16-year-old daughter Mackenzie Chase.

The 52-year-old said: “They always wait until the damage gets really bad. When it came down you could see all the black mould inside.

“They don’t seem to understand the trauma that people go through.”

Andie has had to face leaks, ceiling collapses and even an ant infestation at her home in Charlwood House.

There are so many insects in her home she has to keep her food on the balcony.

Andie’s daughter Charn Williams also lives at the A2Dominion property with three other family members.

The family warned the council of a leak in early November but it was not fixed, and the ceiling in Andie’s bedroom ultimately collapsed.

Charn, 28, said: “We had two leaks in there. [The council] began visiting and then two weeks later there was a second one.

“Because it’s so terrible my mum doesn’t want to move back into the room. She was in there with a mouldy ceiling.

“They said it was safe and then 48 hours later it collapsed right where she had been sleeping.

“We have had an ant infestation for well over a year.”

In February, Andie was diagnosed with PTSD caused by the state of disrepair in her flat.

At the time she had been dealing with sewage leaking into her home.

Her ceiling had collapsed and she was forced to clear away bucket after bucket of leaking water.

Andie added: “The trauma for me is that it lasted three days. I had to call the fire brigade.

“I couldn’t sleep. I was crying all through the night. When I slept I could hear the water coming again.”

Her GP is now writing to the council to explain that she is trapped in the flat and it’s having a big toll on her health.

Although Westminster City council had started to repair the ceiling when the Local Democracy Reporting Service visited, Andie is scared that a similar incident could occur again.

Now the family risk being in the infested flat for Christmas.

David Lingeman, A2Dominion’s director of property services, said: “We are aware of the problems Ms Williams has been experiencing and we are very sorry to hear of the impact it has been having on her.

“We are currently liaising with Ms Williams’ solicitors and Westminster City council, who are the managing agents of the property, so we can resolve this issue as soon as possible.”

Westminster City council has been contacted for comment.

Pictured top: Charn Williams, Mackenzie Case, and Andie Williams.