SINKING floors have forced a dozen North Yorkshire residents from their homes.

Householders in Harness Lane and The Ridings, in Boroughbridge, contacted builders Bryant Homes after the floors of their homes began to sink.

After checks, about 12 were found to be affected by a foundation problem and had to be moved out while repairs to the seven-year-old buildings were carried out.

The father of a Harness Lane resident, who asked not to be named, said: "They had to rip all of the ground floor up.

"There was no financial loss to my daughter, but her and her family moved in with us while the work was going on, which was inconvenient for all of us."

Another resident said: "The floors must have sunk a good couple of inches. Not everybody has been affected, but Bryant has been out to check all the houses."

The homes are covered by the National House-Building Council's Buildmark agreement, which gives insurance against defects for ten years.

A spokeswoman said: "NHBC has been approached by a number of homeowners in the Boroughbridge development regarding settlement of the ground floor slab in their houses. We have carried out investigations in these homes and, in some cases, have found that there has been a failure of the hard core layer beneath the concrete floor slab."

She said an extensive repair programme was being carried out.

"In some cases, the whole lower ground floor has been taken out and reconstructed," she said.

"We are writing to all the homeowners in the development to explain the steps being taken. We are also inviting people to contact us if they would like further information about the repair works or if they have any concerns about their own property."

A spokeswoman for Bryant Homes said: "We will continue to work closely with the NHBC to ensure a speedy resolution to this situation."

Updated: 12:04 Saturday, November 02, 2002