Four Margate households in emergency accommodation as water pours through their roofs

Firefighters were called to Cliftonville to reports of a power outage due to water leaking through the roof of a building.

Transcript

00:00We might see a leak in the house and think it's a problem to solve for later,

00:04but this one in Margate has left families devastated as they've been forced to leave

00:08their homes behind. Emergency accommodation is being provided to four households after

00:13water poured through the roof of their flat in Clifdenville and led to a power outage.

00:18But despite being given alternative accommodation,

00:21one resident who lives on the same road as the building affected says families have been left

00:26struggling. They've had to abandon their home and all their possessions in the condemned

00:34building and travel elsewhere in Kent, not even in Thanet, to have a roof over their heads.

00:43And now that school's started up again, that's going to be very difficult for them.

00:51Firefighters were called to Aethelstone Road around 12.40 on the 24th of August to the sound

00:56of smoke alarms, where its crews discovered it was actually a water leak affecting the

01:00building's electrics. But it's not just this building which has had problems in recent times.

01:06In a statement from Thanet District Council, a spokesperson said,

01:09Prior to the flats being condemned, the private sector housing team investigated

01:13complaints about the condition of two flats. As a result, they say enforcement actions had

01:18been taken because evidence of rainwater entering indicated that the main roof needed

01:23to be repaired or replaced. They understood the building's new owner had instructed contractors

01:28to replace the roof, but appropriate weather protection was not put in place.

01:32But for now, the council has been in contact with the new owner to ensure

01:36everything is fixed properly and will allow residents back once the repairs have been made.

01:48you