A WORRIED dad says a wonky, rat-infested chimney is in danger of falling down and crushing him and his wife to death in their bed.

Carl Lloyd will not even let his two children in the bedroom at the semi-detached house in Hollins Lane, Martley because he is concerned the 'leaning chimney' will fall down, crashing through the roof onto their heads.

However, housing bosses at Platform say they will be completing work on the chimney pots next month but the chimney itself does not require any structural work.

READ MORE: Be the Change vegan restaurant building for sale

READ MORE: Antique shop in Worcester to close 

The 53-year-old, whose bedroom is directly below the chimney, said he and his wife Tina, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, have been in contact on multiple occasions with landlords Platform Housing to try and get the issue - and several other issues - resolved.

Worcester News: ISSUES: The house, managed by Platform, in Martley. Photo supplied by family. ISSUES: The house, managed by Platform, in Martley. Photo supplied by family. (Image: ISSUES: The house, managed by Platform, in Martley. Photo supplied by family.)

The family, who had been living in Mill Street in Worcester, moved in four years ago to the three-bedroom house in Martley.

However, they say nothing has been done to fix the chimney, an issue which he first reported two years ago, and much of the work in the house they have had to do themselves.

The former civil engineer also says he has found dead rats inside the chimney which he has blocked up and a 'sinkhole' outside the back door.

Mr Lloyd says he has been told by a Platform surveyor the whole building should be condemned four years ago when they first moved in.

He said: "The house appears to be cracking down the middle. They (Platform) said there's nothing they can do about the rats.

"About two months ago I found 10 to 20 rats all dead. I filled a black bin bag with rats. They were nesting inside. It's disgusting."

However, Mr Lloyd, who has a heart condition and cannot work, said his main concern remains the chimney coming down on top of him or someone else in his family.

He said: "I'm worried the chimney is going to come down and fall on me.

"I've a good mind pull it down onto the car park. I get very worried when it's windy. We have even moved our bed to the other side of the room.

"I certainly won't let my children play in the room, not with the chimney hanging over. There's got to be a tonne of bricks up there."

He has two children living in the house, four-year-old Emily and 13-year-old Tia who suffers from attention-deficit disorder (ADD), dyspraxia, learning disabilities and low-end autism.

He said of the chimney: "Platform Housing was supposed to take it down. The house was going to be condemned by a surveyor but we had nowhere else to go. It's been going on for nearly four years. If the chimney kills us in our sleep I want to let everyone know I did report it, so it's Platform's fault we died."

Marion Duffy, Chief Operations Officer at Platform Housing Group said: "We are in contact with Mr Lloyd and will be erecting scaffolding to repair the chimney pots next month.  The chimney itself has been surveyed by our team and does not require any structural work."