�A Harold Hill family with three young children were left with a flooded flat after burglars broke in and stole their neighbours’ copper piping.

Gina Thompson returned to her flat last Monday to find water gushing from the flat above hers after a boiler was also stolen.

The three council tenants in the Briar Road block of flats had already been re-homed, but the Thompson’s who are leaseholders, were waiting to find a new home.

Waiting

They claim the flats and entrance to the block was left unsecured after other tenants moved out, a claim the council deny.

Peter Thompson said: “I have stopped in the flat since it happened, and it is cold and damp. We can’t leave it, because we are likely to be burgled too. we are vulnerable.

“The council is planning to knock down the block and build a new development and the other tenants have been re-homed, but we were still waiting

He said when his wife Gina called him to tell him about the flood, “I thought it would be a puddle. But then I arrived and the fire brigade was here, and the water was gushing from the front door. The premises are not liveable now. My wife is devastated and she can’t stop crying.”

A council spokesman said: “The front door was – and still is – a security door, accessed only by keys held by the occupants. Because it was us who had asked the Briar Road occupants to move out, we gave them a bit longer to hand back their keys. Unfortunately, during that time, opportunistic thieves got into number 7, stole the piping and caused the flood damage.”

Cllr Steven Kelly, council deputy leader, said, “The people who stole the piping should be ashamed of themselves and we will be working with the police to help make sure they are caught and punished. We are very sorry for the distress caused but I have been assured the building is secure.”