A FORMER health and safety officer who suffered third degree burns in a domestic accident has blamed Warrington Borough Council for his injuries.

When Carl Price, aged 35, moved into a second floor council flat on Grasmere Avenue a year ago, he immediately alerted housing officers to a hole in the kitchen floor.

On several visits during the following 12 months, health visitors and housing inspectors told him the problem was a health hazard and should be treated as a class A priority, but nothing was done about it.

When his wife Renae found their six month old son, Ryan, choking on a piece of tiling which had found its way into the living room, the couple again complained.

They claimed the floor was slowly collapsing beneath them, and they could see the ceiling of the downstairs flat underneath.

Last week, Mr Price slipped into the hole while cooking and spilled the contents of a red hot chip pan on his arm. He suffered third degree burns and has been told he will have to have skin grafts.

Said Mr Price: "It's taken 12 months and an accident to get something done about this. I dread to think what could have happened if my son had been nearby at the time. I can cope with the pain and being scarred for life, but he couldn't.

"We were told it wasn't a priority and that there were other properties on the estate in far worse condition than ours. If that's so, there must be other families at risk in their homes."

Mr Price was a health and safety officer at Hazelwood Food Enterprises until he was diagnosed with cancer. The family are still avoiding cooking in the kitchen, but have now have been told the repairs will be carried out as soon as possible.

A spokesman for the council's housing department said the problem had been overlooked for 12 months due to an internal error which could not be properly accounted for.

The department was now reviewing its procedures, he said.

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