Northampton tenant sleeping in hallway has had leaky roof for three years

Daniel's bedroom ceiling has been completely stained and he has covered his belongings with tarpaulin to prevent them from further damage.

Daniel Armstrong, 40 of Sycamore Court in St Andrews Street has taken to sleeping on a mattress in his hallway after he has faced seemingly endless leaks in his two-bedroom flat for more than three years.

The radiographer, who currently has brimming buckets and saucepans in what used to be his bedroom, says he had to call the fire service out on Christmas Day to provide protective tarpaulin for his valuables as he could not get hold of his housing association for help.

Daniel has lived in his flat for eight years and has been facing this problem for three years. He said: "It is a bit depressing. I make music in my spare time, but now most of my equipment is in storage because there's nowhere to put it all without risk of damage.

Daniel (pictured pointing at the leak in his bedroom) has turned his ceiling lighting off to prevent any danger.

He said it is annoying to keep emptying the buckets: "You have to carefully place them if you are going to be away from home for long."

Daniel's neighbour, retired postman Charles Bole, has had a number of holes in his ceiling, which he has repaired himself. But he still fears the leaks are a potentially deadly hazard.

Charles has not used the lights in his flat for nearly four years - out of choice - as he believes flicking the switches on could be dangerous, and he has previously seen "sparks flying off wires" in his bedroom.

He said: "I spent the whole of Christmas and Boxing Day filling up holes. It took 10 minutes to fill a bucket up. It was like a waterfall.

Charles Bole said the housing association painted over the holes.

"I can't have my family over from Ireland, my brother from Canada. It's just a complete nightmare.

Adrian Cheetham, of East Midlands Housing, said: "The safety of our customers is our primary concern, and we are sorry that this issue has taken so long to resolve. Over the last few years, we have dealt with the day-to-day repairs as they have arisen while seeking a permanent solution.

"A contractor was appointed last year, but when the work started it was found that the damage to the roof was more widespread than first thought. We immediately stopped the work and brought in a structural engineer to undertake a fuller assessment. As a result, a new contractor has been appointed and the works will be rescheduled as soon as possible.

He added: "We visited Mr Bole last week with an electrical engineer and, after undertaking all the necessary testing assured him that the electrics in his flat were safe to use. Mr Bole informed us he was happy with this outcome.

"Once again we apologise unreservedly to the residents and assure them that we are doing all we can to ensure that the roof is repaired as soon as possible."