Derbyshire mum 'scared to be in her own home' after huge crack appears in walls of property

A Derbyshire mum says she is ‘scared to be in her own home’ after a huge crack appeared in the walls of the property.
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Kelly Hadfield, 25, claims the crack, which appeared last Thursday, June 25, is about three inches wide and stretches from the front of her home to the back underneath the guttering.

She has ‘no idea’ how it has happened but neighbours believe it could be due to the walls ‘shifting’.

The huge crack which has appeared in the wall of the Wirksworth home.The huge crack which has appeared in the wall of the Wirksworth home.
The huge crack which has appeared in the wall of the Wirksworth home.
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Kelly, who lives in the house on Queen Elizabeth Close, Wirksworth, with her daughter Khyra, four, says she now feels in danger and has called on housing group Platform to permanently fix the damage.

Kelly said: “It's very scary to think that me and my daughter have to stay in this house and with no date on when it will be fixed.

“I have contacted the Platform Housing Group three times since Thursday. All they have done is put some tape around which fell down an hour later.”

Kelly says her daughter is scared to stay in her own room as the crack is on the side of her bedroom and she has been sleeping in her mum’s room.

Kelly Hadfield and daughter Khyra say the damage to their home is putting them in danger.Kelly Hadfield and daughter Khyra say the damage to their home is putting them in danger.
Kelly Hadfield and daughter Khyra say the damage to their home is putting them in danger.
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“I can’t let her out on the front unless she's holding my hand and keeping well away from the whole side of the house.

“I also have to block it off round the back as I have a dog who goes out on the back yard. I have contacted Platform again today (Monday, June 29) to be told they will come out and assess it but they won't start repairing it today and they don't have a date that they will!

“They must have seen how dangerous it was when they put the tape around it. It needs fixing as soon as possible, not assessing.

“I'm getting scared of being in my own house.”

Assistant director for Platform Housing Group, Malcolm Kaszics, said they were getting materials together to fix the crack.

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He said: “We were made aware last Friday that the lady has concerns about roof problems so we sent someone out to have a look. Their view was it was safe from what they could see and they would arrange for someone to come out on Monday and have a look.

“The wall hadn’t shifted – the tile type bricks had come away. They weren’t bedded in properly. What we should have done better is that we should have dropped a note into Kelly’s house for Kelly to call the supervisor on Friday but we knew it was safe.”

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