Calls were made today for an inquiry after Bradford Council's building inspectors were accused of approving defective grant work at disabled people's homes.

The demand for an investigation by councillors came after muscular dystrophy sufferer Paul Gutsell claimed he spent the winter sleeping in a freezing and damp bedroom due to faults in the £28,000 extension at his home, paid for under a Disabled Facilities Grant.

And the Council may be sued by the family of wheelchair-bound spina bifida sufferer Ryan Pickering, 12, whose parents claim a grant-funded ground floor extension at their home in Romsey Gardens, Holme Wood, is a death trap.

Mr Gutsell, 38, said a Council building inspector had decided the work at his home in Thornbridge Mews, Bolton, had been completed satisfactorily last October.

But he said problems began the following month when water started seeping through a window and the walls of his new bedroom became damp. Mr Gutsell, who lives with his wife Julie, 33, and eight-year-old son Dominic, relies on an electronic lift to manoeuvre him from his bed to the bathroom. He said he was forced to live in the damp room as all his equipment had been installed there. He said builders had frequently returned since November to work on the problem but he claims there is no evidence it has been solved.

He said: "This extension was built to improve my quality of life but it has destroyed it. There have been problems all the way along, and I am convinced there are major faults. I have had to live with the cold and damp through the winter. I wish it had never been built."

Jaroslaw Stachiw, of Bradford solicitors Stachiw & Bashir, who are representing the Pickerings, said: "We are in the process of suing the builder and are now considering bringing Bradford Council as a second defendant. The Council has clearly failed in its duty of care to young Ryan."

Bolton ward councillors Howard Middleton and Allan Hillary have called for an inquiry.

Councillor Middleton (Lib Dem) said the certificate of completion should never have been signed, and he added: "I want to see an inquiry. When something like this happens more than once it is time to get have a closer look at it." Coun Hillary, (Lib Dem) said: "It is essential the standard of workmanship is to the right level. It is only right that we investigate this matter properly."

A Council spokesman said: "The Council has liaised closely with Mr Gutsell and the contractor who built the extension to identify the cause of the defect. The problem has not recurred since it was rectified. However, due to prolonged dry weather, we have not been able to establish if the work has been a complete success."