Phoenix Court was evacuated due to flooding which caused the ceilings to fall down

A pipe burst in Phoenix Court halls in the early hours of the morning, causing the ceiling panels to collapse and water to flood into the corridors and hallways of the flats below.

Residents of the Unite Students-run halls were firstly woken up and told to go downstairs briefly at around 2.30am due to the fire alarms going off. Shortly after they were allowed back to their rooms, they were woken up again at 4am and told the whole building was being evacuated.

The Tab UWE have been told those evacuated had to wait downstairs until 7am before the floods started to be cleared, allowing them back into their flats. People who live on the top floors had to wait until around midday before Unite Students booked them into a hotel.

One fresher told us: “A pipe burst on the 10th floor and flooded the ceilings of most of the hallways, causing some of the ceiling panels to collapse and water to pour onto the carpets in the corridors.

“The students were brought downstairs briefly around 2:30am due to the fire alarms going off and then sent back up, before being told around 4am that they were evacuating the building. They waited downstairs until around 7am before some floors started being cleared to go back up to.

“The top floors had to wait until around midday before being told we were booked into a hotel and bussed over there.”

According to one fresher who lives in Phoenix, the residents with the most damaged flats are staying in a hotel until the damage to their flats are repaired. The Tab UWE have been told freshers in the hotel are receiving a £25 dinner allowance each evening not spent in halls.

Fresher Liberty told The Tab UWE: “We have two nights in a hotel. We have to keep receipts for our food and they’ll pay us back.”

In response to the events of last night, Unite Students commented: “In the early hours of this morning (6th November 2017) we experienced some flooding on one of the higher floors at Phoenix House in Bristol, requiring us to evacuate students to a common room for a short period while we carried out safety checks.

“The cause of the flood has now been resolved and the majority of students have returned to their rooms. A small number of flats require further repairs and affected students are being given alternative accommodation and support while the issue is resolved. We apologise to our students for the inconvenience this has caused.”

The Tab UWE tried to contact Avon & Bristol fire service for a comment. Updates to follow.