Devastated families have lost their homes after a block of run-down flats was condemned.

Emergency accommodation is being provided for four households after water poured in through the roof of a building in Athlestan Road, Cliftonville, and soaked the electrics.

Firefighters were called to the street after the power went out and alarms went off.

After discovering the electricity cabinet was flooded, they contacted UK Power Networks, which shut the building off from the grid.

The distraught tenants have had to “abandon their homes and all their possessions”.

The landlord says the disaster occurred over the bank holiday weekend after he started renovations to the dilapidated property, which he bought at auction in July.

A contractor had removed felt from the roof and covered it with tarpaulin - but during a deluge of heavy rain, water leaked through.

Matt Shoul, chair of Athelstan Road Tenants and Residents Association, told KentOnline: “Pneumatic drills were going all night.

“On Sunday morning, there was a big hole in the ground and tenants were outside the building saying that there was torrential rain in the night and the fire alarms had gone off because of a building-wide blackout.

“The district council found emergency accommodation for all the tenants - quite a few of them outside Margate.

“At least two families have children at local schools, so that's going to affect them as they've both been placed outside Thanet.

“It’s a very very difficult situation.”

One household also had 14 cats living with them, which had to be rescued by a local charity.

Mr Shoul, who has lived opposite the affected block for seven years, continued: “The tenants are struggling. They are really, really unhappy.

“It’s been very disruptive to their family lives.

“They’ve had to abandon their homes and all their possessions in a condemned building.”

Mr Shoul says these are not the only homes in Athelstan Road with issues in recent times.

Over the past four years, he has asked Thanet District Council (TDC) to consider compulsory purchase orders on several blocks of flats due to the “atrocious condition” they have fallen into.

The landlord, Yogindranath Abhee, told KentOnline the safety of his tenants is “what matters most”.

He says that after buying the property on July 29, he discovered none of the residents had rental contracts.

“Most of the flats were empty and dilapidated and the roof was leaking, evidenced as it had damaged the top floor flat ceilings,” he said.

Mr Abhee says he launched a “renovation programme” and a roofing contractor had removed the felt and covered it with a tarpaulin.

“Unfortunately, the heavens opened and water leaked into one side of the building activating the fire alarm system,” he said.

“The rain was not anticipated as the weather was nice and sunny for a long period.

“I am saddened that the tenants had to move unexpectedly due to the incident as it was beyond our control.”

After the flooding, the fire service returned to review the safety of the block and found “several issues”.

Mr Abhee continued: “This has had a huge impact on my life.

“I would like to make changes in people's lives and support them with a liveable home, as there is nothing more important.

“I hope all involved in this will support me in providing a good home for those who need it.”

A fire service spokeswoman confirmed crews were called to the block at 12.42pm on Saturday, August 24, to smoke alarms sounding.

She said: “One fire engine attended and crews discovered it was a false alarm and a significant water leak was affecting the building electrics and smoke alarm system.

“There were no reported injuries.”

A TDC spokeswoman confirmed the authority is providing emergency accommodation for four households while repairs are carried out.

”Prior to the flats being condemned, the Private Sector Housing team investigated complaints about the condition of two flats and common areas,” she said.

“As a result, informal interventions and formal enforcement actions had been taken.

“Evidence of rainwater entering indicated that the main roof needed to be repaired or replaced.

”It is understood that the building’s new owner had instructed contractors to replace the roof, but appropriate weather protection was not put in place.”

She added that the council has been in contact with the new owner to ensure everything is fixed appropriately, and will ensure residents with a right to occupation are allowed back when that happens.

This is not the first time issues for tenants in Athelstan Road have been in the spotlight.

In 2022, four property owners were jailed for illegally evicting tenants.

This included a campaign of abuse including dousing one resident in petrol and ordering homes to be smashed up.