A FLAT with chaotic wiring has been discovered in Halesowen, as one resident described it as a “threat to life”.

The resident, who wished not to be named, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he had contacted Dudley Council and National Grid over the matter for several months between October and December last year.

He said: “I went to get an electrical certificate for my flat to make sure it is safe, but when a local electrics company came around to check it out, they told me they wouldn’t pass it, and said the wiring was completely dangerous.

“I remember the engineer who came out asking his boss what he should do, and him saying he had never seen wiring so bad in his life.”

The resident contacted the National Grid which, when asked whether the wiring was safe, is believed to have told them it was not safe.

The resident said he pays a service charge to Dudley Council as a leaseholder for his flat and he added: “I asked [Dudley Council] what I should do. I flagged it up with them three or four times. They responded to me on the phone ‘What do you mean what’s wrong with it?’, which I find quite incredible.”

On the council’s website it states: “The freeholder is responsible for keeping the structure in good repair, maintaining and cleaning any common parts, recovering these and any management costs through a service charge levied on the leaseholders”

But the resident said: "“I pay them a service charge to sort the maintenance of my flat out, and feel like I am being mugged off. It’s unacceptable really, especially as this wiring has been called a threat to life.”

The electrical wiring, at a flat on Islington Road, was found in a cupboard in a hallway, supplying all the other flats with electricity.

While the resident said his own wiring inside his flat was suitable, he was concerned about the electrics in other rooms let by different individuals.

“My flat is fine because I have tidied up the wiring, but what about the other tenants in this building? What if an accident happens because of this terrible wiring?”

Councillor Laura Taylor-Childs, the council's cabinet member for housing and community services, said: “We have had our electrical engineers on site today and can assure tenants there are no immediate safety risks but it is clear some improvement work is required.

“This work would fall under the responsibility of the Distribution Network Operators, which are the electricity suppliers for each individual flat.

“They are responsible for connecting the cables that run from their customer’s flat to the meter.

“We are speaking to the residents in the block and advising them to contact their electricity supplier to get the work prioritised and rectified.

“We are also going to follow this up with the suppliers. We thank the tenant for bringing this to our attention.”

A spokesperson for EON Energy said: “We have supplied the individual in question since September 2021 and have not received any contact from him raising concerns over the wiring in the meter cupboard, nor have we received anything from National Grid to raise this.

“Now we have been made aware of this, we are sending a technical specialist to the property to investigate the wiring in the cupboard, this will determine who would be responsible for the wiring and what actions should be taken.

“We are unable to touch the meters owned by other suppliers and are not responsible for the state of the meter cupboard, likely to be that of the landlord or local distribution company which we will determine when we visit.”

National Grid have been approached for comment.