Dundee flats affected by a treacherous landslide have become a death trap after the council nailed their fire escape shut.
Heavy rain caused tonnes of earth to crash down from Gardner Street into the back of Lochee Road properties at New Year, forcing residents to evacuate their homes.
The council sealed off the rear fire escape doors at Lochee Road flats as a safety measure due to the unstable nature of the landslide.
Last week fireraisers set ablaze the bin store outside the communal front entrance door of 177 Lochee Road.
It meant the residents could have been trapped inside their flats with nowhere to flee if the blaze got out of control.
The fire was brought quickly under control and no one was hurt.
Ground floor resident David O’Neill said: “The health and safety has gone out the window. I have been dealing with a council worker and this person has been fobbing everyone off.
“The fire door has been nailed shut as the council say it’s not a safe area to evacuate people from, due to the landslide and the fact that rocks could be coming down at any minute.
“If the fire door is totally nailed shut and the bin store is on fire then there’s no way through the front door, which is the one you have to buzz people through.
“It’s become a trap zone and nobody would be able to escape as the front of the building would be inaccessible to get out.
“The only way out is by going through the ground floor person’s flat by escaping through the lounge window.
“If that’s on fire anybody on the second floor without a fire escape would have nowhere to go.
“If we weren’t in to let them out where the hell would people go? The gentleman upstairs has a young child and on the first floor we have a person who is partially blind. It’s become ridiculous.”
The fire at Mr O’Neill’s block was the third blaze in three days at the row of flats on Lochee Road.
It is understood vandals also set the bins ablaze at 175 and 185 Lochee Road on the two days before Mr O’Neill’s block was targeted.
Last week The Courier revealed the shocking statistic that the number of fires deliberately set in Dundee has almost tripled during the past year.
A house in Dundee was deliberately set on fire every three days between August and September.
A Dundee City Council spokesperson said: “We have taken safety precautions at the block and the situation is fully compliant with the current building regulations.”