Denmead mum's two month long 'nightmare' as flat ceiling collapses, flooding property and leaving family separated without their home

Heavy rain led to a sudden ceiling collapse in Michelle Hayman's Hambledon Road flat on January 31, forming a hole in her son’s bedroom and sending water cascading down into the property.

Michelle, 36, said: ‘We heard a massive crash, because the ceiling coming down brought the TV off the wall.

‘The curtain poles fell off, the carpet’s ruined, my stuff’s ruined, my son’s bed is drenched.’

Lorraine Woodman, Michelle’s mum, added: ‘It was horrendous - there was mess everywhere.’

‘Water was coming through the light fitting, it looked like it was raining. We can’t have the electric on, it’s too dangerous.’

Damage caused by the flooding, which leaked into the front room and stairs, forced the family to leave their home.

Michelle says that her children are still suffering nearly two months later after the ongoing situation pushed family members into separate temporary accommodations.

Along with children Bradley, 16, Kayzia, 17, and Jimmi-Jae, four, Michelle moved in with her dad and his girlfriend in their one-bedroom flat in Wecock. Michelle’s eldest, Yazmin, 19, lives with her partner.

Alternative housing solutions had to be found, with Bradley going to stay with his Dad, and Jimmi-Jae now living with his Nan.

Lorraine said: ‘There’s still flooding through the whole back of the property. It’s running down the walls, the carpets are like walking on wet grass, everything’s gone mouldy.’

‘I spoke to Environmental Health and they sent a lady who said it was uninhabitable.

‘It’s been an absolute nightmare - I don’t think the landlord realises how bad it is.'

SEE ALSO: Portsmouth man slams gas and electric firm SSE after it gives him the runaround switching his meter

Michelle, who has rented the property since November 2019, claims that landlord Kaz Miah has not acted quickly enough to resolve the problem.

Lorraine added: ‘I spoke to the landlord on the phone and explained to him how distressed Michelle is at having to be separated from her children due to this situation and he fobs me off every time.’

Mr Miah, who also runs the Kassia restaurants, says that he instructed workers to step in as soon as possible when he heard about the issue.

He said: ‘I couldn’t physically have done it any faster than I have.

‘Ultimately I’m not Dynamo, I can’t fix these problems myself.

‘Not every tradesman is waiting for you to call them, they are busy and they can’t just drop everything.’

Although Mr Miah sent a roofer to the flat on February 12, water continued to come down from the ceiling meaning that the work needs to be done again.

Michelle said: ‘It took my landlord ages to get someone around to fix the damage that’s come down but what they did made it worse, and now the living room is damaged, we can’t have the electric on, there’s mould everywhere.’

Mr Miah said that if he had had another rental property free, he would have offered them alternative accommodation.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news online - as well as fewer adverts, access to our digital edition and mobile app.

Our trial offer starts at just £2 a month for the first two months.