An epileptic council tenant is recovering after a pile of plaster fell on her head from above a window in her bedroom at home.

Shocked Sue Sutheran, 34, of Sutton Road, Southend, told how she rang Southend Council's housing department to warn them cracks in the plaster were getting bigger.

She said: "The plaster started bowing underneath the window. I rang and told the council it was just going to collapse.

"They said they could not get a surveyor there that day because he'd gone out already but they would try to get it looked at some time this week.

"I was putting some clothes in the wardrobe and putting up some net curtains I had washed.

"All of a sudden, as I looked up I saw something move. I bent my head forward and all this plaster came down on the back of my head. It hurt my arm.

"I'm an epileptic so I had to get my Mum and my neighbour here pretty quick in case it triggered a fit. I was quite pale and sick all day."

Sue rang the council again and the surveyor turned up straight away.

She said: "If he was able to come then, why wasn't he able to come earlier in the day. He might have been able to stop this happening."

Only minutes earlier, Sue's children aged nearly five, and 22 months were sleeping on a bed in the same room where particles of plaster fell.

She said: "I've just about had enough. I'm looking for compensation. The plaster fell on a jewellery box my kids gave me, which is now all smashed up, and some of my jewellery is broken too."

Last year Sue had some replastering work done at her home and was reassured that was all that was needed to tackle the cracks.

Mike Gatrell, Southend Council's assistant director of housing services, said there was a problem with a couple of windows but repairs were now in hand.

He said the area where the plaster fell was in a different place from where work was carried out the previous year.

When Mrs Sutheran initially called to report the problem, Mr Gatrell confirmed the surveyor was already out on his rounds.

He said: "Mrs Sutheran was told that arrangements would be made for him to call but it was unlikely it would be the same day.

"This is a fairly standard situation. The surveyor has a schedule of work. When the plaster collapsed, Mrs Sutheran called the area office again. Obviously at that point things had taken on a greater degree of urgency.

"The local office contacted the surveyor on his radio and asked if he could go to Sutton Road to see if emergency repairs were needed, so he interrupted his work to do so."

Angry - mum Sue with daughter Keelie and the lump of fallen plaster/STRONG>

Picture: ROBIN WOOSEY

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