Birmingham family's heartbreak as flood in flat leaves them without electricity
ITV News Central's Pablo Taylor met with Jennie Woodlock and her family in Acocks Green
A struggling family have spoken about their distress and misery after their home was flooded leaving them without electricity.
“A home is somewhere where you’re happy, a home is somewhere where you feel safe," says a heartbroken mother who has been battling for a safer home.
"And we don’t feel happy, we don’t feel safe."
As Birmingham emerged from under the sheet of snow earlier this month, Jennie Woodlock’s family were met with melting snow that turned into water, leaking through their roof.
All they could do was helplessly watch on as streams flowed down their walls and into their electric sockets - but this wasn’t the first time their home had become flooded.
Ms Woodlock said: “Water was pouring down the balcony wall, it was like a water feature.
"My son had put a bucket in; one of the plastic storage boxes and that was being emptied every hour.”
The family laid down as many clothes and towels as they could but by the morning, many of their belongings had been damaged beyond repair.
The family home was submerged in water in 2021 - but Birmingham City Council, who manage the building, made repairs to the roof.
But Ms Woodlock says the quality of the work was poor and on both occasions, the council was slow to respond.
“The previous flood we had, they asked if we could wait 24 hours," Ms Woodlock added.
"The floodwater had got to my bedroom door.
"I broke down crying on the phone in the end because I was like ‘there’s only so much we can do’. I said ‘we’ve got towels down, we’re mopping, we’ve got buckets down’ and it was the same this time.”
The extent of the flooding has left the family without electricity and forced them to begin yet another week of living mostly without power.
Ms Woodlock's son, who has autism, has been living without a light in his bedroom and with black mould growing on his windowsill.
She said: “I am desperate to get out. I’ve been moved around a lot in my life, and this time I actually want to move, this time around, I actually want to.”
The family live on the top floor of a flat in Acocks Green and, because of financial difficulties, they are unable to move elsewhere so remain reliant on the council to end their nightmare of living here.
Ms Woodlock said her home has left the whole family feeling unsafe
Black mould and leaky ceilings have begun to erode the well-being of the household leaving Ms Woodluck worried for her partner's mental health.
She said: “His mental health has gradually been declining to the point where he was put on antidepressants since we’ve moved into this property.
"We can’t live like this and he’s, unfortunately, he’s getting suicidal thoughts.
"We can’t keep fighting like this anymore. We want a home.
"A home is somewhere where you’re happy, a home is somewhere where you feel safe. And we don’t feel happy, we don’t feel safe."
In response to the family's claims, a Birmingham City Council spokesperson said: "There have been historic issues at this block and we are on-site completing capital works which include replacing the roof.
"With this particular property, we have been engaging and continue to do so with the tenant to try and gain access to the property to complete a range of repairs.
"We have tenant liaison officers on site communicating with residents so they are aware of the work we are doing and picking up any issues that affect individual tenants.
"We apologise for any disruption to tenants."