Couple's home breaks in half and crumbles before their eyes after botched building work
A COUPLE whose house cracked apart and collapsed after botched building work described the moment as being “like a disaster movie” yesterday.
Couple’s home leans as cracks in the brickwork grow worse
Edward Goldswain, 40, and his eight months pregnant fiancee Jacqueline Hale, 39, fled the terraced property just in time.
Miss Hale said: “It was like an earthquake.
"You could see the cracks widening by the second, the house was splitting apart.”
The trauma of the incident put her in hospital with early contractions – thankfully her baby was born unharmed.
The couple now face having to pay off the remaining 23 years of the mortgage on their £345,000 Edwardian flat because they were not properly insured.
They were awarded £290,000 in damages after a judge ruled the collapse was caused by the incompetence of builders working on a basement extension.
But they fear they will not see the money because the firm is believed to be insolvent.
A huge crack appeared between the terraced houses after building work went wrong
The terrifying incident happened in 2012.
Builders failed to install proper supports and, two months into the work, cracks began to appear in the brickwork.
A heavy rain storm widened the cracks, causing the building to collapse.
What was left of the house in Finchley, north London, had to be demolished.
Miss Hale said: “The cracks were just getting bigger and bigger.
"We thought, ‘We have just all got to get out of here’ and ran.
Beams bridge the gap after the house had to be demolished
"As we got outside you could see bricks falling.
"It was crumbling in front of our eyes.”
Adjoining properties were also damaged, forcing neighbours to leave their homes.
The couple now live in rented property in Harpenden, Herts.
They sued AIMS Plumbing & Building Services in the High Court, arguing that firm was “not competent to do the job which it had been employed to do”.
The firm was not available for comment last night.