A MUM of two from Halliwell has said she and her children live in fear of their ceiling collapsing after years of leaks.

Alyx Unsworth, aged 23, lives in Lawn Street and says the copper pipes from her bathroom have been leaking for the two and a half years she has been living there and have left the house damp and mouldy.

Her three-year-old son has been suffering as well because the damp is exacerbating his asthma. Miss Unsworth said: “The last year I have been constantly ill and it’s scary knowing the ceiling could fall down.”

Onward Homes, formerly Contour Homes, owns the property and Miss Unsworth says they have been out several times and opened up the ceiling and plastered it back up but more leaks keep occurring.

Onward has said it is happy with the work that has been completed.

Miss Unsworth said on one occasion a contractor came out and the ceiling ended up falling down around a small hole he made.

She said: “The guy made a small hole in the ceiling and water started pouring down and part of the ceiling collapsed. It was lucky the kids weren’t there.”

Water had been running down the wal,l prompting another call to Onward and a contractor came out overnight but said there was little he could do and in the morning Miss Unsworth said the problem was “twice as bad”. She added: “The carpets were dripping wet and toys were ruined. I have a huge cabinet that was ruined because it was full of mould.”

She said in March she could actually “hear the walls crumbling” and added: “The ceiling where it is is the kids’ bedroom and if the kids are downstairs it’s dangerous.”

Miss Unsworth lives with her two children, Chione, aged five and Dante-Lucas, aged three.

Her son has asthma and Miss Unsworth said: “He suffers badly enough at this time of year but the smell and how strong it is ­— it gets on his chest and makes him really ill.”

Andrew Brown, regional director for Greater Manchester at Onward Homes said: “Since July 2016 we have attended to five minor leaks at the property, all of which were unrelated and the repairs were undertaken in a timely matter. The most recent leak, which involved a repair to underfloor pipework, meant access was required via the lounge ceiling. However we are satisfied that the remedial plastering to make good the ceiling was completed to a good standard. A repairs specialist, who visited the house yesterday, has confirmed there are no on-going leaks. We await a full report and will conduct any further repairs if necessary.”