AN Evesham couple are living in fear after an outbuilding attached to their home began to subside.

James and Samantha Conway have accused their landlords of dragging their heels on repairs - even though the collapsing building has already damaged a boiler, leading to carbon monoxide fumes leaking into the house.

Machine operator James, who has lived at the house in Bredon Crescent, Hampton, with Samantha and their four children aged between six and 10 months for more than two years, said he had been fighting to have something done for more than ten months.

"I first contacted the landlords, the Evesham and Pershore Housing Association, just before Christmas last year," he said.

"It began when I noticed the door to the shed was sticking when I opened it. Over the months the problem got worse.

"The landlords sent out someone to inspect the property and he said he would be in touch, but never got back to us.

"I contacted them again and again someone came out. Again they never got back to us. Then things began to get serious."

James, 31, said that the subsistence eventually cracked the boiler in the outhouse.

"It was leaking natural gas from one end into the outbuilding and carbon monoxide into the house," he said. "It could have been lethal."

The authorities were alerted and the damage to the boiler repaired, he said.

"But then it took us three weeks to get the gas supply restored."

James said the situation had now become so bad that workmen arrived last week to shore up the concrete roof on the outbuilding which was threatening to collapse.

"They shored it up and disappeared," he said. "No one will tell me what they are going to do to resolve the problem."

Toby Whiting, press officer for the Evesham and Pershore Housing Association, said: "Rooftop Housing Group are in the process of addressing both issues raised by Mr and Mrs Conway. Firstly the boiler; we examined the boiler and no evidence of gas poisoning was found. The specialist advised relocating the unit, however this has not proved possible so a new boiler has recently been fitted. Secondly the outbuilding: our insurers will be inspecting the property on Tuesday, October 4. We will know what their recommended course of action is.

"We have an excellent system for reporting and tracking repairs. Our aim is to make sure that every repair is dealt with as effectively as possible. We will be working with Mr and Mrs Conway and the contractors to ensure that their repairs are completed as soon as possible."