A GREENOCK man whose front room has been saturated with sewage for almost a month is begging bosses at River Clyde Homes to help him clean up his property.

Ross Gallacher was horrified last month when he discovered waste water seeping through the ceiling of his Westburn Buildings home and drenching his carpet.

But the social landlord says it is not responsible for compensating him for the damage.

The foul liquid came from a leaking toilet in the flat above his and left sections of the walls and carpet in Mr Gallacher’s living room ruined.

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The 38-year-old called his housing provider, River Clyde Homes, who sent someone out to clean the wall.

(Image: George Munro)(Image: George Munro)

But a River Clyde Homes spokesperson said they had investigated the matter and found that they were not liable for repairing the damage, leaving Mr Gallacher to pick up a substantial bill.

The distressed tenant told the Tele: “I’m raging about it. I try to be positive, but this is just madness.

“I can feel the smell at the back of my throat and it’s rotten.

“When it happened you could smell it straight away. It was revolting. I knew straight away it was human waste.

“I’m not using my living room any more. It’s absolutely stinking and I want to stay away.

“RCH are saying it’s nothing to do with them. I tried to claim compensation but they’re saying it’s not their fault.

“But how can that be the case? If I damage their property, I have to pay them, but if my property gets damaged, then they’re not responsible for it?

“I’m going to need to take the wallpaper off and take the carpet off. It’ll cost me hundreds.

“It’s the kind of thing you’d expect your housing people to help you with."

(Image: George Munro)

Mr Gallacher fears he will not be able to cover the costs of the work required to fully remove the smell and clean up his home.

He added: “At the end of the day I’m not well off enough, and I’ve got enough bills to pay.

“They’re sitting behind a desk telling me they can’t help. They’re not sitting here dealing with this problem and maybe being £800, £900 or even £1,000 down.

“All they’ve done is given it a wipe with multi-purpose cleaner and given me a dehumidifier I can’t use because it costs too much in electricity.

“It’s doing my nut in. I just want them to fix it.

“I just don’t think they care, and they’re not ashamed of the fact they don’t care.

“It might look like water damage, but it isn’t. It’s sewage. I don’t want money, I just want them to fix my home.”

(Image: George Munro)

When contacted by the Telegraph, a River Clyde Homes spokesperson said: “We understand that this is a distressing situation and sympathise with Mr. Gallacher on the damage to his living room.

“River Clyde Homes repaired the leak and cleaned the area affected but are not liable for damage to soft furnishings or decoration unless the cause is attributed to negligence on our part.

“We have investigated the matter and have found that this was not the case.

“As outlined in our tenancy agreements, it is the tenant's responsibility to ensure their belongings are adequately protected through contents insurance.”