A FAMILY say they are planning to sue Thames Water after their house was ruined by water from a broken pipe.

Ian and Andrea Balm had to flee their home in Maiden Lane in Dartford in February 2008 when cracks appeared in the walls and the house nearly collapsed after an outside water pipe burst.

Mr and Mrs Balm and their two children had to move into rented accommodation across the road, provided by their insurers, and stayed there while their home was condemned and then demolished.

The three-bedroom terraced house was rebuilt and they were able to move back in last month, but Mr Balm, aged 34, says they are planning to sue Thames Water.

He said: “Andrea was eight-and-a-half months pregnant with our son Kian and our daughter Leanna was only nine when we had to leave the house.

“For the first two weeks we had to stay with my mother-in-law in Ilford, then we were put up in a hotel for two weeks, and then we were put into a house across the road from ours.

“Our house comes under Dartford borough but the rented house came under Bexley, so we had to pay higher council tax and bills while we lived there.

“We are suing for those extra costs, but also for all the stress the upheaval caused. I’m not sure how much we will sue Thames Water for, we will just get as much as we can.”

Mr Balm, a carpenter, says Thames Water has still not apologised to his family for the damage to the home and the stress it caused.

He said: “The only correspondence we have had from Thames Water is the water bills we have had for the rented house we were living in.”

The cracks in the walls appeared after water began streaming down the pavement from a burst underground pipe outside the house.

Both the Balm’s home, which they bought for £141,500 in 2006, and the house next door were damaged beyond repair, and both were demolished in September last year.

A Thames Water spokesman said: “We are extremely sorry for the distress caused to the occupants of these houses and we accept full responsibility for this incident.

“As soon as the final bill for rebuilding these properties comes through, our insurers will pay it. This was our fault and we are putting it right.”

Honey the dog's alopecia: After the cracks appeared in the walls and the Balm’s had to flee their house, the shock caused their dog Honey to develop alopecia.

They had to take the Staffordshire bull terrier to the vet for tests and it took four months for her to recover.

Seven-year-old Honey is now back to full health, and Mr Balm says she is looking forward to welcoming a new playmate to the family as Andrea is pregnant and due to give birth in January.