HOUSING staff have apologised after a 64-year-old with dementia was left with a water-logged kitchen for almost two weeks because plumbers couldn’t check a privately let flat.

Billy Stevenson’s daughter Katie says water began pouring through a light socket at his home in Springburn on January 5.

However, she says it took 11 days for maintenance staff employed by ng Homes to trace the source of the leak and repair it because they couldn’t get into an empty, neighbouring flat.

She says her dad was left unable to cook hot meals because City Building switched off the electricity supply affecting his kitchen appliances for safety.

The housing association said Mr Stevenson’s situation was “regrettable” and had been caused by plumbers being unable to gain access to a privately let flat, which they believed was the source of the problem.

Maintenance staff discovered on Tuesday that the leak had actually come from the washing machine in another flat, directly above Mr Stevenson’s home.

The 64-year-old has now been offered alternative accommodation but his daughter is angry that delays in checking the privately-let flat left him without a functioning kitchen for almost two weeks.

Katie said: “Housing groups need more contact with the private owners so that this sort of thing doesn’t happen.

“The plumbers were coming out but they couldn’t do anything because they couldn’t get access to the flat, diagonal from my dad’s.

“It turned out it was the washing machine in the flat above.

“They are blaming it on the Christmas period but it should have been prioritised.

“City Building switched off the power supply on one side because the water had poured onto the sockets.

“Then the switches tripped and the fridge went off and all the food in the fridge went off.

“My dad is lucky because he has family looking out for him but other people might not.

“They brought in humidifiers and a woman from the housing came out on Tuesday and apologised."

A spokesman for ng homes said; “The problems that Mr Stevenson has encountered are regrettable and are a direct consequence of a water leak in a privately owned flat above our property which unfortunately we were unable to gain access to.

“Since we were made aware of this issue we have organised our contractor to come in and resolve the matter as quickly as possible.

“We did offer Mr Stevenson alternative accommodation during this time however he declined this.

“We are keeping in close contact with Mr Stevenson and his daughter to ensure that this matter is resolved to their satisfaction and to provide any support required and we understand that Mr Stevenson is happy with the way we are proceeding and the work required will be completed today.”