A man with a heart condition says he is lucky to be alive after suffering an electric shock from the meter box at his flats.

Christian Walker accidentally touched a light socket while checking his electricity reading.

He claims the socket had been left without a bulb in it by contractors working for Ashford Borough Council (ABC).

Mr Walker, 36, who has an enlarged heart that only works at 14% capacity, said he was flung across the hallway at The Chennels, High Halden.

And he says when he called the ABC out-of-hours line to report the problem, he was told to just stick a post-it note on the box to warn other residents.

“I was disgusted by the man’s attitude,” said Mr Walker, who has lived at the flats for three years.

“I am lucky to be alive or not seriously injured. It really put
my heart out of kilter and I still felt strange a day or so afterwards.”

Mr Walker said contractors had been moving the fuse boxes from the communal areas into each flat.

He receives benefits as he cannot work due to his heart condition, and went to check his meter reading at 1.10am on Friday, September 20, as his payments went into his account at midnight.

He said: “I was going to pay my electricity bill online.

“I opened the meter cupboard where a couple of light bayonets had been left without bulbs in them.

“I accidentally put my hand on one, and found myself on the other side of the hallway.”

Mr Walker called the ABC out-of-hours line and said he was told by a worker there was nothing he could do, and to put a post-it notice on the box to warn other residents.

He then called UK Power Networks who advised Mr Walker to call an ambulance.

Mr Walker said: “The ambulance took me to the William Harvey Hospital for the night because my ECG readings were all over the place.

“UK Power Networks came and sealed off the box and put up warning notices so no one could get in it.”

Mr Walker said the box had now been padlocked by ABC.

He used to work as a gas engineer for his father Chris’s firm C-Gas Ltd in Tenterden, but he suffered a heart attack three years ago.

He is studying for an Open University degree in environmental sciences.

Ashford council said the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) was investigating the incident.

“I am lucky to be alive or not seriously injured. It really put
my heart out of kilter and I still felt strange a day or so afterwards” - Christian Walker

A council spokesman said: “While there was a reported incident at The Chennels and while UK Power Networks were called out and the HSE notified by our contractor, we dispute many of the facts claimed by the resident, who has not submitted a formal complaint to us.

“As HSE has been notified and may choose to investigate, we will not comment further.”

A spokesman for UK Power Networks said: “We attended a property in The Chennels, High Halden, at about 1.40am on Friday, September 20.

“Our engineer made safe equipment in a temporary lighting unit at the property.”