A MAN has won an apology from contractors over the collapse of his garden wall after heavy rain.
Mohammed Imran, 29, of Victoria Road, Lockwood, claims contractors failed to properly reinstate a trench after repair work.
Following heavy rain the trench filled with water and the ground collapsed under his stone wall, causing masonry to crash down, fracturing an exposed gas pipe.
Kirklees Council alerted power company Northern Powergrid after a street light in Armytage Crescent, close to Mr Imran’s home, went out in April.
Contractors Morrison Utility Services repaired power cables outside Mr Imran’s home but failed to fill in the trench properly afterwards.
During last week’s heavy rain the trench filled with water and, on Monday, the wall collapsed.
Mr Imran, who lives with his parents, told how he smelled gas the following day and called the authorities.
A pipe had been damaged by the falling masonry and as a result the family was without gas for 12 hours.
Mr Imran said: “All I want is an apology and to know when they are going to repair my wall.
“If the pavement had been repaired properly in the first place my wall wouldn’t have collapsed.
“The collapse damaged the gas pipe and caused the leak.”
Mr Imran’s gas supply was turned off and he was without gas until the following day.
“I am just disappointed they didn’t phone me up and say sorry and tell me when they are going to repair the wall.”
Mr Imran said the trench was a potential hazard for pedestrians.
In a statement Kirklees Council said: “In April we identified a problem with the electricity supply to column 1 on Armytage Crescent. As a result we informed Northern Powergrid of this fault for them to rectify.
“The street lighting team was advised that this work was completed on May 1. On July 9 we received a call reporting that the wall outside 186 Victoria Road had collapsed into an open excavation and that the excavation had been open since April.
“As a result of the call a Kirklees Streetworks inspector visited the site and immediately reported the situation to Morrison Utility Services whose barriers were around the excavation.
“The Streetworks team were never notified that excavation works were being carried out and therefore had not monitored the works.
“We believe that a representative from Morrison has been in touch with the householders to discuss and arrange the necessary remedial work.”
A spokesman for Northern Gas Networks confirmed that the gas leak was caused by “third party damage” but there was never a major safety issue.
A spokesman for Morrison issued an apology to Mr Imran
He said: “We are aware of the difficulties experienced by Mr Imran following the recent adverse weather.
“This issue stems from an administrative oversight relating to repair work that was carried out on faulty street lighting in Victoria Road, Huddersfield.
“We have been in daily contact with Mr Imran and building work to restore the wall is scheduled to commence this week. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
