A woman claims her family have been living in squalid conditions since the ceilings in their council house began to collapse in March.

%image(14568377, type="article-full", alt="Amanda Starling from Rollesby in her home that has flooded twice due to the water tank bursting.Picture: Nick Butcher")

The flooding began in the loft of the Coronation Avenue house in Rollesby on March 2 after a pipe connecting the header tank and the heater tank became dislodged.

But the significant damage came on March 7, while heating engineers and plumbers were reconnecting the water and fixing the central heating.

Amanda Starling, 51, who lives in the house with her husband, son and granddaughter, said that while the workers knelt in the sodden insulation in the loft, the ceiling of her bedroom below began to sag.

She said: “I phoned the council to tell them the ceiling was bowing and as I talked to them it began to collapse on my head.

%image(14568378, type="article-full", alt="Mrs Starling said since her house flooded last month it has been "one disaster after another". Picture: Amanda Starling")

“I ran out of the room and the next thing you know there was an almighty crash and the whole thing had fallen through.

“Everything in my room that wasn’t already damaged by the first flood was now destroyed.”

Mrs Starling said that several weeks later, her granddaughter’s bedroom ceiling also began to dip while more insulation was removed from the loft.

She said: “She was scared to sleep in there, because she’s only 10, and the ceiling was bowing and cracking.

%image(14568379, type="article-full", alt="Mrs Starling said since her house flooded last month it has been "one disaster after another". Picture: Amanda Starling")

“It’s just been one disaster after another.

“Everywhere is full of dust and muck. The shower hardly runs, because if we turn up the water pressure the pipes bang and my neighbours can hear the washing machine three doors down.

“The council don’t care. Everything is only half done. It is an absolute nightmare.”

In a statement, Great Yarmouth Borough Council said: “Following an incident where a council housing property requires significant repairs, GYN, the council’s repairs provider, will attend to carry out immediate works to make the property safe.

“GYN then put together a schedule of works to bring the property back to its previous condition. Sometimes works take several months, depending on the nature and extent of the issue.

“During this period, we continue to communicate with the tenant and provide advice, including on any safety issues, and if required may offer temporary accommodation and/or storage of belongings.”