Andreia Moreira was told her home needed to be immediately evacuated

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A FAMILY has lost an estimated £100,000 worth of belongings – including an irreplaceable wedding dress – after their new council home was suddenly sealed and urgently evacuated in an asbestos alert.

Andreia Moreira, 37, told how her home had to be put in “special measures” which left her family with young children unable to go home for three weeks and moved into a hotel in Hammersmith.

Camden said the contents of the three-bed maisonette in Wellesley Road, Queen’s Crescent, had become contaminated after the dust was disturbed during “unauthorised” DIY works.

Among more than 500 items were Ms Moreira’s wedding dress, a Nintendo Switch, a sofa, a laptop, designer bags and dozens of items of sentimental value including the NHS red books that charted her children’s progress when they were babies. Everything down to a teddy from Harrods was taken away.

The order to leave was made suddenly and Ms Moreira had to pick her children up from school and take them to the hotel in west London.

Neighbours have been rallying around and setting up online fundraisers to help them get back on their feet.

The Town Hall insists all of the items removed were “destroyed” but the process has left Ms Moreira, a tenants rep on the estate, feeling suspicious, as some items were taken and others were not.

“We lost 90 per cent of what we owned – including babies’ red NHS books, picture frames, wedding dresses,” she said.

Ms Moreira’s belongings are bagged up after contamination

“They took a Miele Hoover, but left attachments. They took one ceramic dog bowl, but left another that was the same. They took mine and my son’s Crocs – but left my daughter’s. It makes no sense whatsoever, what they took.”

The instant evacuation came after contractors noticed that a small asbestos panel had been drilled through. A follow-up inspection found several changes had been made to the flat, including the removal of a section of wall. This was not related to the asbestos release. Camden has called this a “serious breach” of her tenancy agreement, which bars structural alterations without the Town Hall’s consent.

• Asbestos in the homes is not itself a risk if it remains undisturbed and can be managed. However, if there is any invasive work that disturbs the material causing fibres to be released it can cause serious harm.

Many council homes have asbestos in them as the material was not banned from building use until 1999.

The tiny fibres in the material are not considered dangerous unless they are damaged and become airborne. Tenants on the Wellesley Road block told the New Journal this week they should be told precisely where asbestos panels are on Camden’s estates.

Asbestos removal must be carried out by specialist building contractors.

The Health and Safety Executive said asbestos is “the greatest cause of work-related deaths in Great Britain”.

Around 5,000 people die every year from asbestos-related diseases which typically take decades to develop and cannot be cured. Ms Moreira, who has lived in the area all her life and moved in after a home swap, said: “I am fully aware and take full responsibility of mine and my family’s actions of the DIY, but we were not aware of the existence of asbestos there. I pay my rent, my taxes, and I’ve been treated worse than a dog. My family have gone through hell and back.”

The panel identified as containing asbestos

She added that she did not at the time realise that she was not allowed to make alterations to the flat. The family – with two young children – was allowed to return after three weeks.

A council spokesperson said: “Keeping our residents safe is our number one priority. Unauthorised works took place at this flat which disturbed the otherwise safe asbestos – this can be dangerous for tenants.

“We took all the necessary steps to make the flat safe – as required by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) procedures, which included hiring a licenced specialist contractor to safely dispose of asbestos waste and any contaminated items within the property.

“Council tenants must seek permission from us before works are carried out in their home, so we can do the required checks and prevent situations such as this.”