Mum-of-seven in 'constant state of fear' after ceiling collapse 'could have killed' her child

A mum-of-seven is on 'constant watch' after a ceiling collapsed in her house, which she says 'could have killed' one of her children.

Sonia Rowlands claims her living room ceiling collapsed in June 2020 and feared it would collapse again within a few months despite it being repaired.

Sonia, who lives in Caernarfon, says she has been 'begging' Adra to fix any repairs on the property in order to make it safe.

Adra is North Wales' largest social housing provider and looks after 6,300 homes in the region.

Two of Sonia's children have autism, so she says she is on 'constant watch' for hazards and dangers.

She says her home is also filled with mould and damp, which is affecting her family's well-being.

Five months after her ceiling was repaired, cracks and holes appeared in Sonia's living room ceiling for a second time.

Adra visited the property after she reported the second collapse in November 2021.

They attached several planks to the ceiling but this is yet to be permanently fixed.

'I'm not sleeping at night now. It's a nightmare'

Sonia claims chasing repairs have "had a huge effect on our life."

She said: "I've been begging them (Adra) for two and a half years to come here and fix my house but there's still so many problems.

"There's damp in every room, there's cracks in the ceiling and outside, the walls and ceilings are collapsing - the entire house is falling apart.

"Two years ago someone came here to look at a crack in my ceiling and they said it would be fine for a couple of weeks, but the next morning my partner got up and found the living room ceiling had collapsed.

"All I kept thinking is what if one of my kids got up in the night to go to the toilet? That could've killed them.

"I'm not sleeping at night now because I keep thinking I'll go downstairs and my living room ceiling's going to be on the floor. It's a nightmare."

A spokesperson from Adra said the safety of their tenants "is a priority" and repairs will be carried out in line with "usual repairs timescales".

Sonia says she is concerned for her children's welfare and also feels unable to "make a house a home."

Sonia said: "To be honest I'm ashamed of this house and I feel like a terrible mum that my kids have to live here and sleep here and the council will do nothing."

'We will ensure that the work is completed to a high standard'

An Adra spokesperson said: "Providing good customer service and making sure our customers feel safe and comfortable in their home is a priority for us.

"We were first notified about the issues involving this property in November 2021.

Adra said: "We then arranged an inspection during December 2021 but as the date wasn’t convenient for our customer we rescheduled the inspection for January 2022.

"Since then, we have carried out work on the ceiling following a leaking pipe to make sure it’s safe for our customer, we have also carried out an inspection at the customer’s home and have identified the work required which will be completed in line with our usual repairs timescales, by May 2022.

"During March this year, we have received further repair requests from our customer which we are looking into and have arranged a further inspection this month.

"We will of course make sure that the work is completed to a high standard so that our customer can enjoy their home."