Expert claims wall that killed toddler Saurav Ghai is ‘still unsafe’
Published: 08 September 2011
by TOM FOOT
A BUILDING expert has warned Camden Council a stretch of wall that killed a toddler in Gospel Oak is still unsafe.
The expert, who did not want to be named, took the New Journal to the wall in Southampton Road that fell in high winds and killed two-year-old Saurav Ghai in 2007.
Camden Council was fined for not properly maintaining the wall and it was rebuilt four years ago.
But the expert revealed how a 10-foot long horizontal “stepped crack” – visible to the naked eye – has now appeared at the spot where the little boy died.
The crack had split through an “expansion joint” and foundation bricks and split at least six main bricks in the wall panel.
Crucially, no other panels on the estate wall have been affected.
Residents on the Wendling Estate have already raised concerns about loose masonry falling into their gardens from another, larger wall on the same stretch.
A council spokesman said: “The wall has been declared safe by an independent consultant engineer who is currently carrying out further examinations.”