Tumbling down

Residents who have returned to live in Arch Cot, Brittons Hill, St Michael, looked on appreciatively yesterday as the last of three houses slated for demolition came down.
Just after 8 a.m. workmen from the Ministry of Transport and Works moved in and started to tear down the house formerly owned by Oliver Fields – which remained standing next to the cavernous opening into which an apartment building collapsed on August 7, 2007, claiming the lives of five family members.
Two other houses earmarked for demolition have already been torn down, the lots where they once stood now overgrown with bush, while an abandoned apartment building and one other dwelling house, which have both been stripped of windows and doors by vandals, remain.
Yesterday’s action was welcomed by Charles Whittaker, whose house now stands two buildings away from the cave. He said he was eager to see work started on a new road leading to his home, that would also provide access to the three remaining and occupied houses in the development farther away from the cave-in.