POLITICIANS sought to reassure the residents of high rise buildings across South Swindon in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster.

MP Robert Buckland joined a delegation of council officers, the cabinet member for housing, Cathy Martyn, opposition councillors and representatives from the fire service on Friday.

The group called in at all Hatherleigh Court, Milverton and Torrington Court, George Hall Court, and the David Murray John Tower.

On Thursday, Swindon Borough Council confirmed that none of its high rise buildings were clad using the sort of material that looks likely to have been the cause of such a rapid spread of the fire in North Kensington.

Nevertheless, the residents of similar structures were in need of reassurance around other issues such as smoke alarms, fire containment and evacuation procedures.

Earlier this week the council wrote to tennants outlining further information around fire safety and the arrangements in place locally.

During Friday’s visit, they were able to meet the delegation of officials to ask questions and seek clarification around any outstanding areas of concern.

Tenants have been issued with a fire safety fact sheet as well as been given the option to take up free Safe And Well checks from the fire service.

Coun leader David Renard said: “Immediately after the terrible fire in London the council reviewed all its high rise buildings and contacted tenants to reassure them about the steps we were taking to keep them safe.

“We were very pleased to visit our high-rise buildings and meet tenants in South Swindon, accompanied by Mr Buckland, to explain that their safety is our priority.

“I was pleased to see that tenants took the opportunity to ask questions during the visit and that we were able to offer some reassurance.”

Mr Buckland said: “I have been able to see for myself the measures that are in place to combat the risk of fire in some of the high rise buildings we have in Swindon.

“This is mostly reassurance to show that our existing measures are strong enough and I was glad to see the emphasis on the importance of fire doors and creating a sterile environment in the main staircase.

“These steps are essential and the message that came out of today is that these measures are simple but if followed they can make the difference between life and death.”

Mr Buckland said he had been particularly impressed with the alarm systems in place, in both communal and domestic spaces, which are linked to the council’s central control room rather than being standalone systems.

A similar delegation will visit high rise buildings in North Swindon next week, accompanied by the area's MP, Justin Tomlinson.