A HOMEOWNER feels caught between the devil and the deep blue sea after he was told that potentially damaging cavity wall insulation could be removed.

Chris Harris took advantage of a Cheshire County Council scheme for reduced insulation about nine years ago but then discovered that it was not recommended for his steel framed house.

Such insulation can increase the risk of condensation forming in the wall cavity, becoming trapped against the steel frame and causing corrosion.

Chris, who lives in London Road, found out about the issue in summer 2013 when one of his neighbours, who also had cavity wall insulation in their steel framed house, struggled to sell their house because potential buyers could not get a mortgage.

He began a campaign to find a resolution and contacted the Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency (CIGA), which had issued 25-year guarantee certificates for some of the properties.

CIGA carried out inspections at three houses in Northwich town centre, which showed that they had not been damaged by the insulation, and issued certificates which it promised to honour.

It has now told Chris that if the insulation work was undertaken in an unsuitable property by a company that was a member of CIGA at the time then CIGA will remove it free of charge.

"I'm torn between the devil and the deep blue sea," he said.

"It might save my property from being damaged but I've paid for cavity wall insulation, for something to keep my kids warm in the winter, and there's going to be nothing."

There has been discussions nationally about carrying out testing to allow for insulating steel framed properties but this has not been completed because of the number of different types of steel framed properties in the UK which would need to be tested.

Gerry Miller, chief executive of CIGA, said: "CIGA exists to protect consumers who experience defects with their cavity wall insulation, whether due to workmanship or materials.

"Cavity wall insulation is extremely reliable with problems only affecting two in every thousand installations.

"On the rare occasions that there is a problem we will step in and work with the installer to put things right."