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Couple's dream home collapsed into rubble because of botched basement dig - send
ing eight-months pregnant fiancee into early labour
By Chris Pleasance for MailOnline 14:32 16 Mar 2015, updated 14:54 16 Mar 2015
+12
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Edward Goldswain and Jacqueline Hall paid AIMS Plumbing & Heating to extend
ground floor flat into the basement
Couple noticed cracks appearing in walls and after rain said they listened t
o the 'fabric of the house tearing apart'
Couple ran from property and shock sent Miss Hall into an early labour, thou
gh her baby was delivered healthy
They were today awarded 290,000 at High Court today but may not see a penny a
fter building firm went bust
A young couple's dream home dramatically collapsed when she was eight months pre
gnant due to the negligence of their builders, a judge has ruled.
New parents, Edward Goldswain and Jacqueline Hale, just had time to get out of t
heir 345,000 terraced home in Finchley, north London, before it collapsed into du
st.
The couple's basement extension had gone disastrously wrong because of their bui
lders' 'incompetence', Mr Justice Akenhead told the High Court.

The pair had paid building firm AIMS Plumbing & Heating to extend their ground f
loor flat into the basement of this property in Finchley, north London, when the
work went horribly wrong
+12
The pair had paid building firm AIMS Plumbing & Heating to extend their ground f
loor flat into the basement of this property in Finchley, north London, when the
work went horribly wrong
The pair said they watched one evening as the house tore itself apart following
heavy rain. The damage was so extensive the home has now had to be pulled down (
pictured)
+12
The pair said they watched one evening as the house tore itself apart following
heavy rain. The damage was so extensive the home has now had to be pulled down (
pictured)
Mr Goldswain said he listened as 'the fabric of the house literally ripped apart
' before the entire property collapsed into the basement, causing huge damage (p
ictured)
+12
Mr Goldswain said he listened as 'the fabric of the house literally ripped apart
' before the entire property collapsed into the basement, causing huge damage (p
ictured)
+12
+12
The judge ordered AIMS Plumbing & Heating Limited to pay the couple almost 290,00
0 in damages for the destruction of their Edwardian home.
But the court heard AIMS is 'believed to be insolvent', so the couple may well n
ever see any of the money.
Describing it as 'a sad case', the judge said the couple bought a lease of the g
round floor of 4 Stanhope Avenue in 2011.
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They needed more space for their growing family and decided to extend into the b
asement, AIMS starting work in September 2012.
However, it all went horribly wrong on November 24 2012 after a heavy rain storm
, said the judge.
Cracks which the couple had already noticed began to widen fast and 'they could
actually hear the fabric of the house tearing apart'.
The couple and the upstairs tenant, who had a baby, hastily evacuated and watche
d as the building crumbled.
Broken home: Workers dismantle the property in north London after a botched base
ment extension caused the entire house to collapse while Mr Goldswain and his pr
egnant partner were still inside
+12
Broken home: Workers dismantle the property in north London after a botched base
ment extension caused the entire house to collapse while Mr Goldswain and his pr
egnant partner were still inside
In tatters: Builders carry a child's cot out of the wreckage of the terraced hou
se in Finchley. A judge today said that it was the builders' 'incompetence' that
led to the home falling down

+12
In tatters: Builders carry a child's cot out of the wreckage
se in Finchley. A judge today said that it was the builders'
led to the home falling down
+12
+12
All gone: The couple were forced to live a nomadic existence
l down, moving through a string of temporary homes, but have
enden
+12
All gone: The couple were forced to live a nomadic existence
l down, moving through a string of temporary homes, but have
enden

of the terraced hou

'incompetence' that

after the house fel

now settled in Harp
after the house fel
now settled in Harp

'Deeply shocked', Mr Goldswain and Miss Hale escaped with little more than the c
lothes they stood up in, the court heard.
Edward Goldswain and his partner Jacqueline Hale, who was eight months pregnant
at the time, had to run from their flat as the house collapsed
+12
Edward Goldswain and his partner Jacqueline Hale, who was eight months pregnant
at the time, had to run from their flat as the house collapsed
They watched as the flank wall first ballooned outwards before collapsing in on
itself. The next door house was also badly damaged.
Heavily pregnant Miss Hale went into premature labour due to the trauma, althoug
h her baby was happily delivered unharmed.
The council took emergency steps to shore-up what remained of the building and i
t has remained derelict ever since.
Since the destruction of their home, the couple have led a nomadic existence, mo
ving between temporary homes, but have now settled in Harpenden.
And they suffered yet another blow when they discovered that the loss was not co
vered by their home insurance.
They now face paying off the remaining 23 years of the mortgage, while dealing w
ith the heart-breaking loss of their house, according to the Evening Standard.
The couple's lawyers argued that AIMS was 'completely out of its depth' and 'not
competent to do the job which it had been employed to do'.
And the judge ruled: 'The overwhelming probability is that AIMS failed to carry
out their work with reasonable care and skill'.
The firm had taken no effective steps to to prop up the flank wall or to lay a c
oncrete floor slab which could have averted disaster.
However, the judge said AIMS had 'played no part' in the case and was believed t
o be insolvent.
The couple also sued engineering firm, Beltec Limited, who designed the essentia
l structure of the basement extension.
However, whilst expressing 'the greatest sympathy' for the couple, the judge rul
ed that the company had not been negligent and bore no responsibility for the di
saster.
AIMS was ordered to pay 287,754 damages - although the couple are likely to face

an uphill struggle in getting hold of any of that.

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