THE nightmare of a luxury block flats in Grays that has turned into a living hell for residents who have bought apartments there continues to get worse.

The recent heavy rains have seen considerable amounts of flooding in the so-called luxury development – which appears to have been abandoned to its fate by the developers, though they are still cramming in more flats at one end of the block on the site of the former Pullman pub.

And as well as the flooding, which has filled some lift wells, and on a twist of fate as it happened on Friday 13th, residents have now reported that they cannot use the lifts at all.

A resident told Thurrock Nub News: "Just to giving you an update. An Orona engineer has said from now on all the lifts will not work in Pullman Court because the BT emergency line s not working. It's connected, but the developer is not paying bills for it to be active."

The saga of Pullman Court adjacent to Grays High Street has run for more than a year, with residents reporting a significant number of faults – some of which are life-threatening, including water pouring through electrical points and exposed electrics open in public areas.

Many of the apartments have suffered with damp and collapsed walls and ceilings. Parts of the exterior wall of the building has collapsed.

The site's developers appear to have gone to ground and are offering little comfort to residents who have paid between £200,00 and £300,00 for their new homes.

And residents have found themselves similarly abandoned by Thurrock Council – which granted planning permission and specified the building regulations for the construction - says the problems are not the authority's responsibility and there is nothing it can do.

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It has said: "The council sympathises with residents who are experiencing issues at Pullman Court, but complaints regarding this matter should be directed to the owner, developer or Bureau Veritas, the approved building control inspector, and civil action can be taken.