FAMILIES with young children were forced from their beds in the early hours of Friday morning after a pipe burst in a boiler at a block of flats in Binfield.

Water flooded a top floor flat in Bryony House, off Jocks Lane, and drenched the flats below leaving an 18-month-old baby sleeping in a damp cot.

The alarm was raised by the family living directly below the flooded flat after water began dripping through the ceiling and onto the sleeping child, the second time the flats have flooded in a matter of months.

The mum, who did not want to be named, said everything in the flat was wet and damp but that they had been allowed to stay.

She said: "We've been allowed to stay, but everything is wet and damp.

"It's the second time it's happened now. It's very frustrating. 

"It was half past four in the morning and the baby was being dripped on from the ceiling. It's not too bad for me but the baby shares a room with my son and he's had to go to school today and he's tired which isn't what you want."

Firefighters and police were rushed to flats at around 6am and spent an hour dealing with the incident before workers and electricians visited the site to clear up the mess during Friday daytime. 

A Bracknell Forest Homes electrician attended the scene to make sure the electrics were safe and said the property was being cleaned and water hoovered up from the top-floor flat.

Crew manager Steve Boham from Bracknell fire station said: "It's a Bracknell Forest Homes property. They were experiencing a water leak. It was a problem they experienced a few months ago.

"It was a burst pipe in one flat that had spread to several other properties. There were families with young children standing in it."

Chris Withnall, Assets and Development Director, said: “We were notified of a water leak at Bryony House this morning (October 23). The property where the leak originated is owned by a private leaseholder.

“Our repairs and maintenance team attended the same morning and have repaired the leak on behalf of the leaseholder. They will also be making good the damage caused by the leak.”

He said maintenance within the bounds of the flats is the responsibility of the leaseholder with Bracknell Forest Homes responsible for the maintenance of communal issues.

The leak of a few months back was caused by a burst stop cock, with repair works carried out by the water board. Again as this is inside the property it is the responsibility of the owner.

When informed of the most recent incident, and that it had affected some of their tenants nearby, Bracknell Forest Homes attended the property.

In agreement with the owner they carried out the emergency works there and then. These included containing the source of the leak and ‘aqua-vacuuming’ the surface water in the property.