UK & World News
- 24 May 2012, 4:39
Will Self Escapes Roof Collapse At £1m Home
Author Will Self's home was one of a row of £1m houses left in ruins when their roofs collapsed.
The writer and broadcaster escaped along with his two sons after the unexplained incident destroyed his and four neighbours' Georgian townhouses in Stockwell, south London.
Speaking after the collapse, he told the Evening Standard: "It was like the front of my house fell off.
"I got the children out to the back of the property because it was all about to go.
"Once things had stopped falling off I got them out through the front door. Somebody could have been killed."
His wife, Guardian columnist Deborah Orr, tweeted: "Look what happened to my house while I was at the pub for 20 minutes. Our house and neighbouring houses are OVER. But no one was hurt."
She later added: "No one knows what caused it yet, but it's emergency services central. Helicopters, the lot."
Although no official explanation has been provided, reports have suggested the incident may have been the result of "wear and tear" or the sudden increase in temperature.
Update:
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what do you think?
Adrian Wagstaff
It looks very suspiscious to me. I can't imagine why somebody would want to push his roof down, if they did.
Richard Paine
I expect Mr self will earn a few pounds in an interview some day to pay for it, with that dry sense of humour.
Valerie Wood
I have never liked Will Self, he is one of the most smug, self-opinionated people on this planet.
David Wragg
Nor me!
Steve Johnson
Perhaps it was caused by the heaters keeping the plants nice and warm in the attic.
David Ward
There's a lot of rubbish been talked about this collapse. People saying its a roof collapse. These houses have old style London roofs, ie they are pitched from the sides to the middle with a central gutter that runs front to back. You can clearly see the roof hasn't collapsed and has nothing to do with it. It looks like the parapet wall of one of the houses (probably the middle one) has toppled into the street and dragged the neighbouring ones with it. It is one of those parts of a house that people rarely maintain. A messy claim against whoever didn't keep their property in repair, if it can be proved
Kelly Curtis
11:03pm on 23/5/2012
I heard it was a build up of Hot Air.