A FAMILY have been left fearing for their health after the ceiling of their home fell in – possibly leaving them exposed to asbestos.

Kath Gorick has accused Sentinel Housing Association of “gross negligence” after it failed to fix the problems at her Abbey Road home, in Popley, Basingstoke.

The 57-year-old, who runs a dog grooming business from her house, said the living room ceiling came down in December after a radiator burst.

The mother-of-two, who lives with her 28-year-old son Luke and his 29-year-old wife Chen Hui Lau, said: “The water went all through the living room, everything was deluged and the living room ceiling caved in.

“Within a week, I had the bathroom radiator burst during the night. We didn’t know it was leaking and the whole kitchen ceiling had come in. It’s been horrendous.”

Mrs Gorick reported the problems to Sentinel, but said nothing was done.

A few weeks ago, tests were carried out for asbestos in the home, where she has lived for 30 years.

She said: “They said the results would be ready the next day, and I didn’t hear anything, so I thought it must be okay.”

However, she chased up the results anyway for confirmation, only to discover a week later that her house did contain asbestos.

Mrs Gorick said: “I have been feeling like I have got something wrong with my throat and chest, but since I knew it was asbestos and they weren’t doing anything, people kept telling me how dangerous it is. I’m really worried about our health.”

Julian Chun, Sentinel’s operations director, said: “We haven’t met the standards that we set ourselves for this type of repair. It’s taken far too long to get this sorted out and we aren’t going to make any excuses.

“We’re really sorry that on this occasion, we’ve let Mrs Gorick down. We’re confident that there hasn’t been any release of asbestos fibres, and we have now got the job completed.”