After 40 years living in Wallacetown, Albert Brown has seen it all, but he’s become sick of the sight that greets him out of his back window in an area he said has been “forgotten by the council”.

Albert stays on Elba Street and has lived there with his wife Mary since the 1980s. The couple say the area was one of the nicest when they moved in. But not any more.

Albert points to the building behind his, which his flat looks onto, on Victoria Street. He says only eight people live in there now, though the building looks like it could house around 30.

“What we’re seeing, it’s a disgrace,” he said. “Nobody will take the housing. They were to be pulled down we were told, but they’ve changed their minds. It’s an eyesore. Look at it, it’s like a condemned area.”

A six-foot fence was installed out the back of the flat by the council to block the view of the dilapidated building, but it’s of no use to Albert, who lives on the first floor and every time he looks out of his kitchen window he’s faced with the building.

Inside, a leak from the council tenants above infiltrated his kitchen and caused thousands of pounds of damage, leading to problems of damp, which Albert says has left him and Mary with bad chest infections.

Albert wanted compensation from the council for the damage, but was told he’d have to pay for the repairs.

“That wall was wringing with water,” said Albert pointing to a wall covered in mould. “Water was coming down that wall there, twice, and the council hasn’t paid us for it, they said ‘claim off the insurance’, I said ‘why should I claim when your tenants have damaged it?’ We should be entitled to that money.”

A council spokesperson said: “We are aware of an incident where an owner was affected by water ingress from a council property. Our property maintenance team responded and dealt with the incident.

“The advice, to make a claim on the households own insurance, was given on the basis that the incident was unforeseen. If the owner is dissatisfied with this advice, they should contact us. We are currently obtaining costs for work, including replacement of the door entry system, upgrade of the communal lighting and redecoration within the communal close of 56A-F Elba Street, Ayr.

“Once these costs are obtained we will be in touch with the owners within the block to advise them of their share of the costs and to obtain agreement to proceed with any proposed works. We are actively working with a range of partners to improve the Wallacetown area.

“The council has not taken any decision around the long term future of the properties.”