A Liverpool mum whose daughter suffered brain damage when a fireplace collapsed has backed a campaign to improve safety in rented accomodation.
Alexa-Leigh Blakemore was playing in the front room of her rented house in Colesborne Road, Norris Green, on September 10 when the heavy fireplace came loose and landed on top of her.
The six year old was rushed to Alder Hey Children's Hospital where she was placed in intensive care, with mum Elle Williams and dad Kieran Blakemore unsure she would survive.
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Alexa-Leigh spent days in an induced coma has been left with life-changing brain injuries.
Now Alexa-Leigh 's mum has supported a campaign by the Mirror demanding the owners of 4.5million private rented homes in England be forced to join a national register to show their properties are safe.
Mum-of-three Elle – who says she asked her Liverpool landlord to fix the fireplace –told the Mirror: “We thought Alexa-Leigh was dead. There was blood coming out of her ears, her nose, her mouth.
“We would definitely support the introduction of a national landlord register. I am all up for landlords having the right checks to make sure their properties are well maintained and safe. It can be a life-or-death situation.”
Alexa-Leigh’s family moved into their three-bed property in 2015, at £425 a month.
Elle was worried about the fireplace and says she offered to pay half of the repair bill, but nothing was done.
The family is now taking civil action against their former landlord, while Merseyside police are investigating.
Five months on, Alexa-Leigh is still in hospital and shattered Elle, 27, and partner Kieran, 33, are having sessions with a trauma psychologist.
Their daughter spent six weeks in a coma, had to learn to walk and talk again and might never have children as the part of her brain controlling hormones has been impaired.
The accident still gives Elle nightmares.
She said: “I was in the bath and I heard a bang. Kieran screamed, ‘She’s dead!’ Alexa-Leigh was fitting on the floor. Kieran ran into the street to scream for help.
"She had her eyes open and I couldn’t find a pulse. The ambulance took two-and-a-half minutes – she’d lost two litres of blood by then.”
The family was told to prepare for the worst but Alexa-Leigh defied expectations and woke from her coma in late October.
Elle added: “The progress is amazing. It started with her responding to a pinch on her left hand. Then, we started getting smiles from her.
"She was non-verbal for three months – but her voice came back. She doesn’t talk like a normal seven-year-old but her speech is coming back better every day.
"She has her sight, her hearing is returning and she’s learning to walk with a frame. But this could have been prevented if the house was safe. I still have flashbacks and nightmares.”
Gordon Cartwright, partner in the catastrophic injury team at JMW Solicitors, said “The family reported a number of issues to the landlord, which were not resolved prior to the accident.”
Renters’ union Acorn surveyed 500 private tenants and 91.8% had lived with a hazard in their home in the last five years.
Some experienced structural issues. Others had fire risks, asbestos and damp. More than half did not raise issues for fear of being evicted – as private landlords can turf tenants out without giving a reason.
Some 18.2% had been threatened with a no-fault eviction when raising issues and 11.2% were served with a notice to leave. And half had experienced harassment or intimidation by a landlord.
Many renters are in the private sector due to a lack of social housing.
Last year, 29,000 social homes were sold or demolished and fewer than 7,000 were built.
The private rented sector, meanwhile, has doubled in size over the last 20 years and is home to 11 million, including three million children.
If regulations are tightened, landlords could be expected to prove they are fit and proper. This is open to debate but it could mean those with certain criminal convictions, like fraud, being barred from renting out homes.
John Lowry, director and head of housing repair at CEL Solicitors, said: “There are a lot of rogue landlords. Properties can be really dangerous . This can have serious health impacts.”
Osama Bhutta, director of campaigns at Shelter, said: “Every day, we get calls from renters in damp and dangerous conditions or facing landlord harassment. It’s appalling there’s no way for them to check the property is up to scratch and the landlord is a decent one before it’s too late.
“We need to professionalise the private rented sector so tenants can sleep soundly at night.
“The Government must deliver on its promise to introduce a Renters’ Reform Bill that includes a National Landlord Register.”
The Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said it would “explore proposals for a national register” and consult on “legally binding new standards”.
A spokesman added: “Councils should use powers we’ve given them to crack down on rogue landlords, including fines of up to £30,000 and banning those who rent out unsafe homes.”
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