Council chiefs today said fire risk assessments at council-owned homes in Oswestry and Bridgnorth will be completed by January. The assessment is to ensure the homes meet legal requirements in fire safety.

The assessment is mandatory on all municipally-owned buildings.

The assurance follows claims that 14 homes have not yet been inspected by safety authorities despite being in council ownership for nine months.

Five of the homes are in Bridgnorth and the remainder are situated in the Oswestry area.

Fire risk assessments cover all aspects of safety and are conducted by the Shropshire Council and fire safety authorities.

Officials at Shropshire Council today said there was no risk to residents of the affected homes, which came under county ownership last April after being transferred from the jurisdiction of the former district councils.

A council official today said the homes in question fall into the low risk area and said that full risk assessment would be completed in January.

The council spokeswoman said: “As with all local authorities, Shropshire Council is bound to carry out fire risk assessments on all of the properties it owns.

“The council owns homes in the Bridgnorth and Oswestry area for which a programme of assessments is well under way. All properties determined by Shropshire Fire and Rescue to be a high or medium risk have been assessed and any remedial works have been carried out.”