Boy hit by dead rat when leaky ceiling collapses after mum 'told to use bucket'
A schoolboy was hit by debris and a dead rat when his ceiling collapsed and fell through after his mum was told to simply 'use a bucket' to deal with a leak at their housing association property.
Shocked Hayden Kiley was playing on his video game console when the roof gave way, bringing down a dead rodent as well as a fan heater which had been stored in the loft.
The 14-year-old's mum Sophie from Lichfield, Staffordshire, said she felt let down by Bromford Housing Association and said they had been having issue after issue at the house.
She said: "It was awful. Everything was ruined, and it was really difficult being a room down. The rat was just horrible, and an old heater fan which fell could have really hurt him.
"Poor Hayden was so so shocked. I was so worried for his safety.
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The boy was hit by falling debris (Sophie Kiley / SWNS)
Hayden Kiley, 14, and his mum Sophie (Sophie Kiley / SWNS)She told Birmingham Live: "It's been horrible. I suffer with really bad anxiety and I've been so worried about our health.
"There shouldn't be water leaking from our ceilings. I don't think the house was ever safe to move into.
"Last Christmas the bathroom ceiling nearly fell through and they told me to put a bucket under the leak.
"It's just been one problem after another.
"They want me to pay upfront to replace his stuff then claim the money back.
"I can't afford to and I shouldn't have to. I'm already struggling to survive the cost of living crisis. My income is variable and gas and electric are so expensive."
The issue began when water started to drip from the ceiling, and the when it rained, the problem intensified, before eventually caving in around teen Hayden in December.
It was over a week before workers showed up and fixed the ceiling, she claims, and she says she was offered just £100 in compensation.
She says she said no as the sum didn't come close to covering the replacement costs.
It collapsed while the teen was in his room (Sophie Kiley / SWNS)Her youngest two have since had to share a bed to give Hayden one of their mattresses, she added.
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Director of localities and customer contact Kevin Bennett said: “We’re sorry for the distress Miss Kiley has experienced since part of the ceiling collapsed in her son’s room. We’ve apologised to her for the delay in fixing the repair and are in discussions about the full amount of compensation she will receive.
“We were first contacted by Miss Kiley on December 5, when she reported a leak coming from her ceiling.
"Based on the information she provided we arranged a visit to investigate this in January. Unfortunately, just two days later, part of the ceiling came down in her son’s bedroom.
"We attended later that day to carry out an initial inspection and advised her not to enter the room until we had completed the repairs due to the possible presence of asbestos.
"Although we arranged for an asbestos inspection to be carried out and had completed this and replaced the ceiling by the following week, we accept that we should have completed this work sooner.
"We have made an initial goodwill payment to Miss Kiley of £100 as an apology for the delay and have asked her to provide details of the items that were damaged so we can compensate her for their loss.”
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