Girl, seven, is rushed to hospital after council flat ceiling collapsed on top of her - days after concerned parents' calls to repair leak were ignored

By JOSHUA HAINING, NEWS REPORTER Published: 20:47, 11 June 2026 | Updated: 20:54, 11 June 2026 A seven-year-old girl was rushed to hospital after a council flat ceiling collapsed on her - days after her concerned parents' calls for a leak to be repaired were ignored. Juniper Flett was on FaceTime to her grandmother when the ceiling fell in at the property in Broomhouse, Edinburgh, on June 7, despite her parents reporting the leak six days earlier. Her parents heard their daughter's traumatising screams shortly after 8pm as a barrage of plaster collapsed on her and gouged her back. Juniper's mother, Robyn Flett, 29, took her daughter to hospital where she was treated and later discharged, but the family are now looking to move homes because their daughter lives in constant fear of it happening again.  The mother-of-three said: 'It fell when she was in her bedroom. My partner heard Juniper screaming and said it was a scream he'd never heard before. I haven't really seen my partner cry much but he was traumatised by it. 'I took her to hospital and they checked her urine to make sure there was no blood because that would indicate her kidney had been damaged. We're grateful that wasn't the case. 'There was debris from the ceiling in her cuts so they cleaned it, dressed it and gave her more dressings.' The family first noticed the leak on June 1 and immediately reported it to Edinburgh council, but were assured the ceiling would not cave in and that the leak was likely caused by a boiler upstairs. Parents Lewis Knox and Robyn Flett with their three children, including daughter Juniper, 7, (front left) who was injured after plaster from her bedroom ceiling collapsed on her Juniper was on FaceTime with her grandmother at about 8pm when she went to her bedroom and the ceiling fell on top of her Shards of debris from the ceiling cut the schoolgirl's back. Her mother then rushed her to hospital where she was treated for her injuries Ms Flett said: 'We were told it was a possibility it was coming from the upstairs boiler and that's all we got from them. 'I shared my concerns on whether the ceiling may fall in and we were reassured that wouldn't happen. The leak continued and we weren't comfortable with her [Juniper] sleeping in that room so we moved her in with us. But it was not until Scottish Power engineers visited days later on June 9 that action was finally taken and the true cause of the leak was discovered.  Ms Flett continued: 'Scottish Power couldn't come out until Tuesday. They went under our upstairs neighbour's floorboards, ripped up his carpet, had a look and found the leak was never coming from his boiler - it was the shared water tank in the attic. 'It was soaking up there. It had been overflowing, the leak found the weakest point and it caused the ceiling to come down in my daughter's bedroom.' The upstairs neighbour was very cooperative but 'really upset by the leak and was worried it was causing us stress,' Ms Flett said. 'Obviously we all know now it was nothing to do with him anyway. He has been a big support.' Edinburgh council chiefs have since apologised to the furious parents and confirmed they will complete the repairs once the affected area has dried. The ceiling collapse was first believed to be caused a boiler upstairs but it was not until Scottish Power engineers investigated that it was caused by a shared water tank An Edinburgh Council spokesperson said: 'We are very sorry that Miss Flett's daughter was injured and wish her a speedy recovery.  'We are in regular contact with the family and have been discussing alternative housing options with them. 'The leak from the shared water tank has been stopped and arrangements have been made to replace the defective overflow shortly. 'We will complete the ceiling repairs once the affected area has dried sufficiently and continue to support the family and make sure they are kept informed as remaining works progress.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.