Pensioners in pots protest
Pensioners who have been complaining about the leaking roof at their Bloxwich flats for the last three months used a pots and pans protest to make their point to housing bosses today. Residents from Sneyd House on the Mossley Estate say they regularly have to mop up the leaks.
They say they fear someone will slip and injure themselves.
Today they lined the communal hallway of the block with pots and pans to catch the drips leaking through the roof to show Walsall Housing Group bosses their predicament.
They say they have been complaining for the last three months but when workmen turn up they keep patching it up and the problem returns again.
Sneyd House residents' spokeswoman Lisa Blakemore said there were safety fears for the residents, who are in their 70s and 80s.
She said: "We first noticed the roof was leaking three months ago and notified Walsall Housing Group.
"Since then workmen and a surveyor have been called out to try and fix it, but they just keep patching it up, then a few days later it leaks again.
"The roof needs a complete overhaul. The pensioners who live on the top floor have been there with blankets mopping up the rain, and catching it with pots and pans.
"The problem is that the main leakage is over a communal hallway, which has a tiled floor and is used by a lot of elderly and vulnerable residents.
"Sooner or later someone is going to have an accident. I think it's disgusting."
Sarah Thomas, spokeswoman for Walsall Housing Group said: "We are aware of the problems at Sneyd House and the roof has now been repaired numerous times.
"We do plan to build a new roof on the property but until then there will another temporary repair job. But residents can be assured a new roof."
Picture: Sneyd house residents, from left, Lilley Colley, 80, Hilda Millington, 88, and Kathleen Hope, 73, stage their protest over the leaking roof at their flats.
By Fiona McCartney
