A FATHER-OF-TWO claims his social housing landlord is causing a safety hazard by declining to repair a two-inch slant affecting his dining room floor.

Simon Galloway, 36, also insists he has not had an adequate response from landlords Coast and Country Housing over the problem in his three-bedroom house in Ormesby, Middlesbrough.

But Coast and Country Housing say they offered a simple solution - fitting a safety bar over the hazard rather than the floor, which they say would be merely cosmetic.

Mr Galloway, a supermarket worker, suffers from arthritis and Sjogren's Syndrome, a form of ME, and says his two daughters, aged four and seven, have both tripped up several times between the dining room and kitchen.

He argues the offer of an installation of a safety bar between the kitchen and dining room would only be a temporary measure, cause damage and would not permanently solve the problem.

Mr Galloway says his mother, who is recovering from breast cancer and has osteoporosis, can no longer visit and rejected suggestions that he wanted cosmetic changes paid for free.

He said that his family agreed to move in even without a floor, yet installed in the upstairs bathroom and toilet and he had happily bought new carpeting for the house.

Mr Galloway, who pays £104 a week rent, said: “For me and my family this has become more than just a safety issue: it has become a respect issue.

“All we are asking for is for our house to be brought up to a safe standard. The issue is way beyond cosmetic. In our opinion it’s a safety issue and Coast and Country's chief surveyor admitted as much when he viewed the flooring.

“We are not asking for them to do any work on the kitchen we are merely asking that they bring the flooring in the dining room to the same level and standard as to that in the kitchen. We are extremely frustrated at the lack of communication.”

A spokesman for Coast and Country said: “This matter has been fully looked into, the tenant visited by members of the property team on a number of occasions and his concerns responded to in full.

"We are unable to make cosmetic improvements to tenant’s properties as this is not a proper use of our funds. In this individual case our expert surveyor has suggested a solution that ensures the flooring is completely safe.”