BOTCHED installation of electric cables over three decades disturbed asbestos in the roof of a Birmingham library forcing the building’s closure, an investigation has shown.

A city council probe concluded that so much work had been done at Sutton Coldfield Library between 1974 and 2004 that it was impossible to identify contractors responsible for the poor workmanship or to lodge a claim for compensation.

Council bosses now face a £1.8 million repair bill to bring the building in the Red Rose shopping precinct back into use, after it was shut down in May.

They were forced to move the library temporarily to the College Design Centre in Upper Holland Road, Sutton.

Linda Butler, Head of Library Services for Birmingham, admitted the absence of council records detailing the installation of data cables for computer equipment made it impossible to bring a compensation claim.

She said an inspection revealed a “substantial amount” of cabling – with some of it penetrating asbestos boards.