A Kaiapoi couple wants to know who mistakenly waterblasted their roof, spreading harmful asbestos dust and causing thousands of dollars worth of damage.
Abestos dust contaminated the Kaiapoi home. Photo: RNZ / Conan Young
Richard Goodwin and Donna Somervail returned home from work one day in April and discovered their roof had been stripped clean and that dust from the asbestos coating had been spread around their property.
Some even made its way inside, forcing the couple to live elsewhere while the house was decontaminated.
Mr Goodwin said he had no idea who was responsible.
"They certainly weren't there at our request or anybody else's that would have had anything to do with the property, and clearly they didn't really know what they were doing as far as handling that kind of roof and dealing with the potential challenges that asbestos might be in there."
The couple was forced to live elsewhere while their home was decontaminated. Photo: Supplied
While their insurer was picking up the cost, the job of decontaminating the garden would come out of their pockets.
Ms Somervail said it was important the culprits were identified.
"There are a few things to think about there because there's the exposure the staff had and also we need to look at recovering the cost of reinstating so we're hoping that if they front up their own insurance will help us cover some of those costs."
To make matters worse their home was burgled while the asbestos was being cleared, the thieves swiping televisions and expensive woodworking tools from a garage.
