The Preluna Hotel has been ordered to pay €1,907.85 to the owner of a car which was damaged when the aluminium structure of a balcony forming part of the hotel collapsed during a fierce storm on March 10, 2012.

The claim was made by Tamara Micallef, who told the court that she had parked her car alongside the hotel, and when she returned, she found that an aluminium and glass balcony had collapsed on it, damaging the roof, the bonnet and one of the car’s doors.

The hotel argued that the incident had happened as a result of a fierce storm which it could do nothing about.

The tribunal upheld Ms Micallef’s claim after noting that other balconies had not collapsed as a result of the storm. It noted that the balcony had rusting bolts, and the hotel had not produced maintenance records for the structure since it was set up 25 years ago.