Cigarette burns on England flag, cupboards falling off walls and flooding - 87-year-old's Leeds council flat misery

Since moving into his Farsley flat in November last year, Bill Ramsay has had flooding, cigarette burns on his England flag and a heavy cupboard fall off the wall.

The one-bedroom flat on Marsden Court is sheltered housing managed by Leeds City Council - but Mr Ramsay said he does not feel sheltered or secure there.

The retired foundry manager proudly hangs an England flag from his window, which was burnt on St George's Day when people dropped lit cigarettes from flat windows above him.

The 87-year-old Leeds United fan said: "I put the big flag out on St George's Day - which is also my birthday. It was full of cigarette burns.

"Everyone got a letter saying it was not acceptable, but it still happens on and off. I think it should be investigated properly."

In May, the flat was flooded from a leak on the floor above, making a mess of Mr Ramsay's flat and leaving the carpets destroyed.

Mr Ramsay said: "I'm a retired foundry manager so my standard of living is well-off, cleanliness is important to me.

"I got flooded out by the flat above and it made such a mess down in my flat. There was water all over my feet, coming down the walls, into passageway and into the kitchen.

"My flat was in a hell of a state! The carpets had to be all pulled up and replaced."

But Mr Ramsay, who lives alone, says the most frightening problem was when a heavy cupboard smashed onto his kitchen table and chairs.

He says he is lucky that neither him or his young grandchildren were sitting underneath when it happened.

The cupboard was put up by a worker in April before it came crashing down in September - and Mr Ramsay says that, seeing the lack of screws behind it, he is surprised it stayed up for so long.

He said: "I was in the bedroom and heard a massive bang, it woke me up.

"The cupboard had dropped down from the wall onto the table and chair. I could have been sat there.

"It's really frightening, I have grandchildren as young as two and three and they could have been sat there.

"It could have killed them."

Mr Ramsay got in touch with Calverley and Farsley Councillor Andrew Carter, who put in an urgent complaint to the council's Housing Department.

Coun Carter said: "Whoever put the cupboard up did a very, very bad job – it fell off and caused damage to his other property.

“The big worry was that it could have seriously injured him or his grandchildren, or anyone visiting.

“This is now part of an official complaint through the Housing Department’s complaints procedure.

“The faults have thankfully now been rectified, but this should never have happened and should have been dealt with far more quickly.

“I made it very clear that this was unacceptable and I am not prepared to have my constituents, whatever their age, treated this way."

Mr Ramsay says he was offered £200 compensation and an offer to put the cupboard back up - which he refused.

He added: "They sent someone out to fix it but I said - you can’t put it back on. It's not going back in the same place that it came off.

"It took two of us to lift the cupboard up which shows how heavy it is. It's unbelievable."

A spokesperson for Leeds City Council said they have spoken with Mr Ramsay and will visit him in his home tomorrow to discuss any complaints.

They added: “We are aware of the issues raised by Mr Ramsay and have dealt with these via our repairs and complaints procedures and will continue to work with him to ensure any outstanding matters are picked up.”

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