A NURSE has told how she was forced to wear a HARD HAT to come and go from her Largs flat after claiming a collapsed roof outside her front door lay unfixed for weeks.

Jane Ann Leahy says she was forced to take the drastic safety measure due to damage above the communal stairwell at her close in Gateside Street.

The hospital worker says two sections collapsed within ten days, and despite reporting it to her letting agent as an emergency on October 12, waited weeks for a proper repair.

Due to the delay, Jane was forced to temporarily move into a friend’s house for fear her children could be hurt.

Letting company Indigo Square however insist all proper procedures were followed and that a permanent fix was sought by the landlord as soon as possible.

However, Jane disputes their claim.

She explained: “Water had been dripping from the roof for a while and it suddenly caved in, causing chunks of concrete and brick to come down into the common close.

“I contacted the letting agent and they said they would carry out an emergency repair but they didn’t - then more parts of the roof collapsed around a week later.

“All they did was send someone out to brush up the rubble whilst they apparently waited on scaffolding.

“It was a really dangerous situation and not something that should have been left for weeks without a proper fix.”

The frightened mum said she feared more of the roof could come down on her or her family at any time.

She said: “I couldn't have my children coming and going through a building site. It was so hazardous in my opinion that we actually moved in with a friend temporarily because I was to scared to live there.

“It could have all come down at any time and seriously injured someone, or worse.

“I started wearing a hard hat to go in and out of the flat because I was so scared that person would be me."

A spokesperson for Indigo Square told the News that the landlord cleared the rubble the day after the first collapse and that a temporary fix was considered straight away.

However, the landlord and contractor felt such a repair would not be sufficient and that full one was needed.

The company says the normal process for communal repairs was initiated and the further delay was due to difficulties securing a contractor and installing scaffolding.

A spokesperson for the firm added: “The fact that our landlord managed to do all of the above in 16 working days speaks volumes on how committed he was to the repair.

“It was pointed out to our tenant that the responsibility for this work fall to all owners in the building.

“If the tenant was an owner in a communal building she would have either had to wait for other owners to pay their share of the work or pay for it herself - and the latter is exactly what her landlord has done on her behalf."