Pet rabbit dies during flooding at Blantyre flats

Jan 14 2010 by Chris Clements, Hamilton Advertiser

A PET rabbit died as two neighbouring blocks of flats in Blantyre were flooded on the same night.

Residents in 42-48 block on Parkville Drive were devastated after a tank above a vacant flat burst early on Monday morning.

And at the same time, neighbours in the adjacent 52-58 block were left to confront the same problem.

Sixty-two-year-old Jack Meechan’s house was so badly damaged by water that he had to spend Monday night in a Salvation Army hostel before South Lanarkshire Council found him alternative accomodation.

Meanwhile, the flooding at another flat – whose owner, Eve Radigan, was away for the weekend – led to her pet rabbit freezing to death in its hutch.

Shopworker Lynsey Shannon (32) stays in the same block as Mr Meechan.

She told the Advertiser that she and her partner heard a crashing sound in the middle of the night.

She said: “At first we thought nothing of it, then I woke up with my neighbour phoning to tell us that the full block had flooded.

“The empty flat’s water tank above Jack had burst. We were banging on his door but he couldn’t hear us, as he is deaf.

“Eventually me and the neighbour managed to rouse him. It was like a lake in his living room.

“Then we saw the ceiling damage. It was a nightmare. Nearly everything he owned was damaged in the flooding, and his front room was totally wrecked. He’s still in shock. The whole ceiling came down on his belongings.”

Lynsey explained that her own home isn’t as badly damaged but council workers are to come to lift the kitchen floor due to the water.

She said: “No one has lived in the empty flat for six to eight months. But, even then, checks should be made. The council said they were over-run with calls but I think flooding should be a priority.”

The flooding in the neighbouring block was discovered by Eve Radigan’s twin sister Joanne as she went to check on the flat before her sister returned home from a weekend break.

Joanne (24) told the Advertiser of her horror when she saw the flooding damage – and the body of her two-year-old nephew’s pet rabbit.

She said: “The guy above my twin sister isn’t in the house very often. There was a burst pipe and it was worse due to the thawing. It ended up flooding Eve’s living room.

“I walked in and saw that half the ceiling had fallen into the living room.

“Her pet rabbit froze to death in his hutch in the living room because of the water coming in. At first we thought he had drowned.

“Eve’s son Kieran doesn’t realise he’s gone yet.

“She’s quite devastated about everything and is staying with us.”

A council spokesman said: “Due to the adverse weather conditions, we have had two burst tanks in blocks 54 and 44 Parkville Drive. These were reported to our Out of Hours Service on Sunday, January 10.

“Our technical staff visited the properties the following day to assess the damage, and arrangements will be made to have the necessary repairs carried out as soon as possible.”