Father criticises landlord after glass crashes to the ground where his children play

Tom Hunter with his wife and their two children at their home in Lloyd Road in Chichester

Account manager Tom Hunter, 29, said it ‘doesn’t bear thinking about’ what would have happened if his young children had been playing outside when it happened.

Tom, who lives in Lloyd Road in Chichester, said: “About three weeks ago there was a loud crash at night.

“The balcony of the flat above us slipped during the night and crashed to the floor.

“It caused substantial damage to the outside of our flat – still unrepaired – and had either one of our young children been playing on the strip of grass out there they would have required urgent medical help.”

Clarion Housing Group, which owns the flats, has said it is working to fix the issue.

Tom said his seven-year-old daughter and three-year-old son often play on the grass during the summer, exactly where the heavy glass pane smashed.

The falling panel also punctured a hole in the outside of his flat, meaning that water can leak into his home when it rains.

Tom said he tried to lift the panel off the ground himself, but it was too heavy.

He said Clarion did not take his worries seriously when he raised them.

Tom added: “I cannot help but feel if we were not social housing this issue would have been sorted, fixed and in all likelihood compensated but instead we are viewed at the lowest end of the social ladder and therefore not worth giving a damn about!”

He also complained about a fault with his home’s extraction system that caused mould to grow in his home.

A Clarion spokesman said: “We take health and safety very seriously. We have been working to identify the cause and remedial works that are required.

“This was concluded recently and an order for fabrication of suitable supports has been placed.

“Scaffold is due to go up on February 19 with works commencing on February 20.

“Letters were sent to the affected resident to keep them updated about progress towards the end of January.

“Of the numerous Clarion properties at Lloyd Road only eight balconies have the affected type of balcony fixings, which are the ones that require work. All other balcony fixing systems have been concluded as safe.”