A Dundee mother-of-two who has battled the council for 17 years to fix water leaks in her home says she is at “breaking point”.
Jill McKiddie, first experienced the leaks three years after moving in to her Lochee council home with the situation now so bad that her daughter can no longer sleep in her own room.
Since the year 2000, the 40-year-old has tried to get the problem fixed by the council, who have sent round dozens of joiners and plumbers in that time to pin-point the source.
After each visit though, Jill says she hears nothing back and once again has to call up and ask for something to be done.
She said: “It’s like the council just come in and pretend to be busy and don’t actually do anything.
“Living with this over the years has made me very frustrated and very, very angry.
“I can’t keep living like this, especially with two kids. I feel like I’m at breaking point.
“It really is horrific.
“Whenever it rains I dread what I’m going to come home to. It quite often just comes out like water from a tap.”
Jill says that one time council workers came round to try to unblock the drains outside her home but instead the residue ended up flowing back into the house, badly damaging her kitchen flooring — for which she has received no compensation.
However, the worst affected is her 13-year-old daughter Hannah’s room, with the teenager experiencing breathing difficulties which her mother believes is down to the moisture in her home.
Previously involved in various sports, she now struggles and is a shadow of her former self.
Jill added: “Hannah is very disappointed and very unhappy right now.
“She has problems with congestion that she never used to have. She used to enjoy lots of sports but now she finds them difficult.
“Whenever the flooding gets really bad she has to sleep on the couch.
“Although Liam is still young, even he is being affected by it. He doesn’t like going into the room and sometimes seems stressed.
“It is affecting everyone and I just want the council to do something about.”
Over the years, Jill has tried in vain to find a new council home but has not yet been able to find one.
Other homes within the block — which are both council and privately owned — have also experienced flooding.
Tam Ferguson, councillor for the Lochee area, says he believes it is a problem with the block’s drainage system and suspects the issue lies in the fact the pipes are encased in concrete.
“I just cannot accept that any tenant or home owner has to live in these conditions as there could be serious health risks,” he said.
“I will be asking for a detailed report into this building and I can only hope that this is a priority and that it isn’t put on the financial back-burner. That may be a failure of duty of care.”
A Dundee City Council spokesperson said: “We are continuing to engage with the tenant in order to resolve these issues.”
