A WISHAW family were left terrified when three-storey scaffolding erected around their home came crashing down during Monday’s high winds.
The scaffolding – which had been in place at the property of Charles Felvus in Dimsdale Road since early last week – was to enable repair work to be done to the chimney.
According to Mr Felvus, this work has yet to be completed.
Now the collapse of the scaffolding has resulted in considerably more damage to the property – including a large hole in the roof which means rain has been getting into the loft.
In addition, the gas box outside Mr Felvus’ front door has been wrecked by falling scaffolding as has a large section of the fence between his home and his next door neighbour.
A shaken Mr Felvus said: “It was like something out of a disaster movie.
“One minute the scaffolding was in place, the next it was crashing down around us. It’s just lucky that no-one was outside when it happened.
“There’s a young girl lives next door and if it had fallen on her I dread to think what could have happened. You can see by the way it smashed through the fence the force it came down with.”
He went on to question the safety of the scaffolding installation and the length of time it had been in position with no apparent repair work being carried out.
He continued: “As far as I’m concerned that scaffolding had never been secured. If it had, no amount of wind would have brought it down.
“It was very dangerous and could so easily have had catastrophic consequences as well as the significant structural damage that has occurred.
“There’s meant to be an inspector who comes round. That never happened. And anyway, why was the scaffolding in place for so long? Surely six days is more than adequate to repair a chimney.”
He added: “I certainly don’t want to be waiting as long for the hole in my roof to be sorted out now.”
Joe Brady, planned and voids manager for the council’s housing and social work, said:
“All scaffolding erected by the council’s contractors must receive a safety certificate to ensure it complies with all relevant health and safety regulations. However, we experienced exceptionally high winds last night. The council will reinstate all damage caused as a result.”
