Engineers prepare to dismantle building in Newburn

Residents in Newburn, on the West of Newcastle, say that they still don't know what is happening to their properties as structural engineers and demolition experts prepare to dismantle a block of houses on their estate.

Heavy rains caused a culvert to collapse last week, washing away the ground under the residential building and leaving it dangerously unstable.

It left many residents living immediately next to the property homeless as they were forced to leave for their own safety.

Now people living on the rest of the estate have been been advised to leave their homes while the demolition work is carried out.

But it's left many stuck between a rock and a hard place. Because they've only been advised to leave their properties, their insurance companies won't foot the bill for any accommodation costs.

On the other hand, if they stay their life insurance won't pay out if something was to happen because they will have been seen to ignore a warning.