Images of rotting wood left exposed by the deadly collapse of a balcony in Berkeley are “incredibly similar” to pictures used in a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the construction company that built the complex where six students died, it was claimed last night.

A SOCIETY where light-touch building regulation, among other things, facilitated the construction of a fire trap so dangerous — Priory Hall in Dublin — that residents had to be removed by court order for their own safety should probably think twice before responding angrily to the news that the company that built the Berkeley apartments where six students died this week paid $3m last year to settle a case over alleged defects in apartment buildings.