A BUSINESS owner has hit out at workers above his store who have left the building “on the brink of collapse”.

was injured after a tile from his shop’s ceiling fell onto his head, due to ongoing leaks which have destroyed most of the inside of the store.

Jamal Abrezenchi, who owns the Post Office franchise at the Willows Centre, in Wickford High Street, has warned the building has become unsafe as a result of building work taking place above the unit.

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Mr Abrezenchi claims he has been tirelessly on the phone to the developers of the site, London and Cambridge Properties Ltd (LCP), to resolve the leaks but has been ignored for 54 days.

He said: “This has affected my business; the working conditions have become very poor. There is water everywhere.

“My stock is damaged, including my customer’s parcels and even their passport applications.

“I never gave authorisation in the first place to build and put scaffolding on my corrugated roof.

“I have only now heard back from them after 54 days of being passed from one person to another to say my claims are unreasonable and they will only fix the ceilings and change the carpets - which are soaked and now starting to smell.

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“I have had to close on many occasions during the busiest time of year because of how unsafe it has become.”

The frustrated owner also revealed video footage of the damage which shows a large tile falling from the ceiling as he filmed.

The sound of the water dripping down the walls and from the ceiling can also be heard.

A brand new photo booth valued at £18,000, used by many customers for passport photos, can also be seen soaking wet from water flowing onto it.

Mr Abrezenchi has been forced to constantly move stock around to avoid leaky areas and claims the problem is getting worse, to the point he cannot control the damage it is causing.

The first leak struck on December 7, 2018 and a major leak followed two weeks later.

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Ceiling tiles have been falling down on a regular basis before eventually disintegrating onto the floor while letting more and more water into the premises.

After a bombardment of emails from Mr Abrezenchi to LCP’s asset manager, Ed Mileham, in a bid to have the list of issues fixed, the shop owner received a reply dated January 30, which stated: “Thanks Jamal, I think your claims are unreasonable.”

Mr Abrezenchi added: “They have since offered to fix only the ceiling and carpet but have not said when.

“But I have lost earnings from having to close the shop, I have lost stock, and been in A&E and receiving treatment to my eye from the tile falling on my head.

“We pay over the top management costs but nothing is ever done.

“The community is now starting to lose patience.

“We are here for the community but we need their support, it is tough out there.

“We are trying to do more in the retail industry to keep the Post Office branches going especially after the latest Post Office reduction in revenues.”

Ed Mileham, director for LCP, the national commercial property and investment company that owns and manages The Willows Centre, said: “We have been in communication with Mr Albrezenchi, regarding water ingress to the Post Office, since early December.

"Having carried out extensive investigations, we have been advised that  there are several sources to the water ingress, which all relate to the development works being undertaken by the owners of the upper floors of the building.

"The works on their premises appear to have inadvertently breached our parapet wall and damaged our water seals. We are liaising with the owner of the upper floors to get repairs completed urgently, with our own contractors on site to expedite repairs where possible.

"That notwithstanding, we have assured Mr Albrezenchi that we will undertake the restorative works to the Post Office as quickly as possible, ensuring that all necessary repairs are carried out to remedy these faults.”