‘Anyone walking by would have been squished’, says Harborough’s MP
The scene in Stockwell last week
PART of the roof of Harborough MP Edward Garnier’s London home collapsed while his wife was inside the property.
The roof above several terraced properties in the street collapsed and a parapet broke off the top of Mr Garnier’s home and fell to the street below.
It happened in Guildford Road, Stockwell, south-west London, on Tuesday night last week.
Mr Garnier’s house and four neighbouring properties were affected in total, including the home of the author Will Self and his newspaper columnist wife Deborah Orr, who live two doors down from Mr Garnier.
Although the Conservative MP was not in the property at the time, his wife Anna was inside.
Mr Garnier, who as the Solicitor General is the Government’s second highest-ranking legal expert, told the Mail: “The roof level, which is several floors up, collapsed and fell into the street.
“There was quite a noise and my wife ran from her desk to the front window upstairs to see what had happened and there was masses of rubble and that sort of stuff.
“Then she saw the neighbours in the street.”
Mr Garnier, a barrister and Crown Court recorder, said they have been staying with friends since the incident.
He added: “It is unsettling not being in one’s own home.
“The main thing is that no- one was killed or hurt as anyone walking along the street at the time would have been squished.”
Structural engineers have said that the collapse could be the result of diurnal drift – the sudden change in the higher temperature.
The London property is an 1840s terraced house.
It is not the first time Mr Garnier’s Stockwell street has been in the news.
In July 2008 a teenager was murdered just 50 yards away from Mr Garnier’s front door
Eighteen-year-old Frederick Moody had been stabbed to death by a gang of hooded youth.
And in June 2006, three of Mr Garnier’s cars were stolen from outside his London home.
His daughter, Eleanor, now a journalist for the BBC in Leicester, was alone at the address when the thieves struck.
An Audi A4, VW Golf and Ford Fiesta were all stolen .
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Weather for Market Harborough
Thursday 20 June 2013
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 13 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 11 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: West
