Canning Town residents’ distress after evacuation from flats

People made homeless after being ordered to leave their structurally unsafe flats in east London have told the BBC of the devastating effect it is having on them.

More than 330 households and several businesses in the new Caxton Works development were told to leave without notice after the blocks were found to be in danger of collapse.

Some say they are paying for hotels as well as mortgages, with no financial help or return date, with one leaseholder saying “this could destroy my life”.

The management firm said the development, also known as Royal Gateway, had been evacuated after expert advice and to “preserve life”. It said it was trying to identify those responsible and fix the buildings.

In a letter to residents, Prime Property Management said problems with transfer slabs underneath the five buildings made them unsafe and ordered people to leave.

But it also said residents had to pay for their own emergency accommodation for the time being.

Some displaced residents have told the BBC they turned to Newham Council for help, but were told to rent emergency accommodation at the market rate.

On Monday, Newham Council said it owned the land on the site of the five towers and had deployed health and safety inspectors and buildings experts to carry out investigations.

It added it was trying to help the most vulnerable residents, but it did not have an automatic duty to house all displaced residents.