Shock as ceiling caves in while Bradford woman was on toilet

The dramatic incident for Catherine O’Donnell, who is a tenant at Olicana House on Chapel Street, Little Germany, happened at around 4.45am on Thursday.

The lettings agency which looks after the building has launched an investigation to find out what happened and is currently carrying out repairs.

Catherine O'Donnell sustained a bump on her head when a boiler unit crashed through the ceiling of her bathroom (Image: UGC)

Ms O’Donnell, who was injured in the incident, was shocked at the suddenness of it, as it happened while she was on the toilet.

“The ceiling caved in on me,” said Ms O’Donnell. “The ceiling just fell through while I was in the bathroom on the toilet.

A hole in the ceiling of Catherine O'Donnell's bathroom after a boiler unit crashed through the ceiling (Image: UGC)

“All of a sudden, it just happened. The ceiling fell through and a boiler unit came with it.

“Plaster came down and water was gushing everywhere out of some burst pipes.

Water from a burst pipe sprays into the toilet of Catherine O'Donnell's bathroom (Image: UGC)

“I went down to security and called maintenance, but I also called 999 and the fire brigade came. They came out and stopped the water flowing.

“I’m still shook up about it, and I have a big bruise on my head. It's really painful.”

A spokesperson for the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were called at 5:25am Thursday to a call of internal flooding.

“One fire engine from Bradford was mobilised to Chapel Street in Bradford.

“On arrival, there was a burst water pipe, which affected three floors in the building.

“The water was isolated by us and left in the hands of the maintenance company.

“We left the scene at 6:01am.”

Ms O'Donnell said: “The boiler appears to have come from a different hatch on the second floor.

“It was a loft area that I never go into and I didn’t know the boiler was there.

“I didn’t know it was there until it collapsed on me.

“I’m inconvenienced as I’ve had to move into another flat.

“The whole building is a shambles. I had to move out of my previous flat for two years and into this temporary flat because my light switches were sparking."

Olicana House, on Chapel Street, Little Germany (Image: Google Street View)

TIR Lettings, the company which looks after the Olicana House building, however, said that Wednesday morning’s occurrence was an “isolated incident”.

A spokesperson for TIR Lettings said: “We are aware of an isolated incident in the building and are conducting a thorough investigation as to what happened to decide on the next steps.

“The apartment is now in the process of being repaired and the resident has been moved to a new flat whilst work is undertaken.”