A father fears his son's life has been put at risk by a leaking boiler in his flat, which has been left unresolved for months.

The carpet of Stephen Care's home in Newlyn Court in Maidstone is sodden with water and parts of his kitchen have been rendered unusable due to the leak.

The 51-year-old said: "I worry about what could happen with the electrics, I've got my son to look after.

"I first raised the problem with Hyde Housing in February, since then they've been fobbing us off.

"I told them them 'if you don't do anything, you're putting our lives at risk.'"

Plumbers came to check the leak earlier this month, but fears over asbestos delayed any repairs.

Despite concerns Mr Care and his son were not told to leave their home.

Hyde Housing, which is responsible for Newlyn Court, has since completed tests and no asbestos in the flat.

The leak caused damp to seep through to Trudy Arslan's flat next door.

She said: "I first noticed a bit of damp on my wall a few months back, about a week later I asked Stephen about it and he found this huge leak.

"I have a chronic skin disease, systemic scleroderma, which means I can't be around damp. They need to do something."

Since the leak was discovered, Mr Care has had to place planks of wood across his hall carpet to avoid walking through puddles and says camping equipment kept in his boiler cupboard has been "ruined"

Vicki Sanderson, head of responsive repairs for Hyde said: "We are aware of a leak affecting the two homes and would like to apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused.

"Colleagues attended the properties to resolve the problem, but discovered that the leaking pipe is located within the adjoining walls to the two homes.

"Before we could carry out any remedial works, we needed to be satisfied that there was no asbestos content within the plasterwork. This has now been confirmed and our partnering contractor has visited today to carry out the repair to stop the leak and book in the follow on remedial works and inspections."

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