SEVEN members of a family were forced to flee their house after faulty building work left it in danger of collapse.

Yasmin and Nazir Ahmed and their five children had to move out while emergency repairs were carried out.

They now face a bill of several thousand pounds to make the terrace house in Cashmere Street, Keighley, fit to live in.

Bradford Council building experts condemned the house after discovering vital internal walls had been removed.

They decided a replacement wooden beam, installed by builders, was not secure enough to hold up the second storey.

Inch-wide cracks had appeared in bedrooms and bathroom as the terrace house began to cave in.

The Ahmeds claim the danger revelation came at the end of several months of wrangling with Keighley builder Archie Binns.

They allege much of the work was shoddy or unfinished, with Mr Binns's team absent for several days at a time.

But Mr Binns, who also lives in Cashmere Street, insists his work was satisfactory and the house was safe when he left it.

Mr and Mrs Ahmed, who have lived in the house for 18-years, say building work began last August and over the next few months they handed over £5,000 to Mr Binns and his workers. When cracks appeared around doorways and in upstairs rooms, the family were assured this was because the work had to "settle".

Mrs Ahmed grew concerned for the safety of her children -- Shabana, Waseem, Nadeem, Sarah and Yasin -- who are aged between two and 16.

Mrs Ahmed said: "Me and the children were home most of the time. We had the feeling the house would fall. I couldn't sleep for a long time."

An anxious Mrs Ahmed eventually called in police -- who could not help -- and Bradford Council.

Council building experts examined the house then told the family to leave immediately and arrange emergency repairs.

Mrs Ahmed said: "We've been really lucky. They said the house could have fallen down at any time."

A report prepared for Mr Ahmed by a Keighley-based chartered building surveyor revealed the extent of damage.

Mr Ahmed was told that internal load-bearing partitions either side of the central staircase had been removed.

The partition walls had been replaced with a single 70mm by 300mm beam, which was carried by the two party walls.

Mr Ahmed said cracks appeared in a bedroom and bathroom, a door head dropped 1cm and the upper floor began to slope towards the centre of the house.

Mr Ahmed said the surveyor told him the removal of the load-bearing walls were major alterations to the building's structural integrity.

He was also told the movement was excessive and beyond acceptable tolerances, with the new beams too small to support the weight of the house.

A separate report by a civil and structural engineer said the replacement beams were not satisfactory in either bending or deflection.

The report added: "It is therefore clear that the timber beams used are not adequate to support the loads imposed."

Mr Binns, a builder for 48 years, insisted he used the correct props while carrying out the work and said the new beam was held completely securely.

He said: "It was all safe. I've done everything within reason, but there's some people you can't reason with."

Mr Binns claimed the Ahmeds interfered with building work, including playing a part in knocking through the internal walls.

He said: "I had to take the sledgehammer home to stop him using it. There were children running around with hammers."

A Bradford Council spokesman said: "Our building control department is involved in this case and is taking action to make the situation safe."