A DISABLED pensioner whose Dalry home is being threatened with water damage from a leaking chimney has accused North Ayrshire Council of delaying repair works.

Archie Wallace, who requires kidney dialysis four times a week, is concerned that water running down the walls at his ex-council property in Blair Road is getting worse due to a dilapidated chimney.

Mr Wallace, who lives with his 72-year-old wife Marjory in the semi-detached house, said that he first contacted the council about the chimney in November last year.

But the 74-year-old has accused the local authority of “disgraceful behaviour” and of dragging out the repair work.

He worries that the longer the chimney remains in a state of disrepair, the more water damage will be done to his home.

Mr Wallace, a former supervisor within the building trade, said: “I’ve had enough with the disgraceful behaviour North Ayrshire Council have been treating me with.

“Every time I phone the council they just say: ‘oh, it’s in the hands of the contractors’.

“My ceiling’s damaged and my walls are damaged.

“They’ve discovered water running down the chimney. It’s come down in my bedroom and the plaster work is needing fixed.

“The longer it goes on, the more damaged it’s going to get.”

Mr Wallace showed the Herald a letter he received from North Ayrshire Council dated December 22. It confirmed that the total cost of repair works, if carried out by the council-appointed contractor, would be £2,504.03.

The authority offered to split the expense with Mr Wallace, therefore costing him £1,252.

Mr Wallace was also given the option of having the repairs carried out privately by a company of his own choice if he wished.

But he said that he was only given two weeks to arrange his own estimate, a time period he said was unrealistic due to his disability.

The Herald saw another letter which North Ayrshire Council had sent Mr Wallace at the end of March.

It confirmed that a works order had been issued and that the repairs should be completed no later than December 5, 2016.

Mr Wallace said: “This has been going on since before Christmas and if I’m paying for half the chimney then I want to know when this is getting done.

“This can’t go on any longer. The water is getting worse.”

A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “We first wrote to Mr Wallace on December 22, 2015 looking for his written consent to share the costs and proceed.

“Owners are requested to provide written consent within 14 days to allow work to progress timeously.

“But we didn’t receive a response to either the initial letter or a second letter, issued on January 22.

“At this point, we were entitled to start the work without the written consent from the owner. But this was avoided after our senior inspector visited the property, spoke to Mr Wallace personally and written consent was received by the council on March 22.

“After negotiations, a start date was agreed by ourselves and the contractor for May 17. We visited Mr Wallace’s property on May 13 to discuss this but he was not home. A letter has now been hand-delivered.

“We were unable to communicate a start date with Mr Wallace earlier as it hadn’t been agreed with the contractor.

“Due to the water ingress in both Mr Wallace’s and the adjoining council-owned property, we feel that it was critical that work started as soon as it could be agreed with the contractor.

“We would like to apologise for the delay and also for any upset that this may have been caused.”