Family forced to sleep in one room as mould invades flat

A BRIXHAM family claim they are being forced to sleep in one bedroom because of the mouldy walls of their housing association home.

Mum Louisa Bone, 26, husband John, 30, and children Emily, four, Sophina, two, and four-month-old Alyssa all sleep in one room in the Chestnut Drive flat to escape the mould spores.

Louisa, who says the windows are left permanently opened in the two-bedroom flat, fears the mould is effecting her health.

She said: "We are all sleeping in one room, which is causing a strain.
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"The children can't play in the bedroom because the baby is in there.

"Plus we have had to store so much stuff in that room with us because of the problems in the rest of the house."

Louisa claimed the mould first developed about a year ago, but since November the problem become progressively worse.

Patches have appeared all over the flat, including large parts of one bedroom wall, the kitchen, living room and bathroom.

Louisa and John had been sleeping in the bedroom worst affected by the spores but in December she says it began to affect her health so they moved the whole family into one room.

"I can't sleep in the room anymore because it causes me to have very bad asthma attacks," claimed Louisa.

She said they regularly wash away the mould making sure the area is completely dry afterwards, but it comes back.

In the disused bedroom they keep the window open all of the time because of the smell.

Louisa has contacted landlord Riviera Housing which has sent someone to take photographs.

A spokesman for the trust said: "Ms Bone contacted us about a problem with damp in her home and we visited the property.

"Our maintenance surveyor looked carefully at the property to ascertain the cause of the damp and established it is not being sufficiently ventilated.

"Immediately after our visit we arranged for an independent survey of the property.

"Their findings confirm our own.

"We advised Ms Bone of the need to ensure windows are opened to ventilate her home and allow moisture to escape.

"To help improve the situation, we have arranged for a specialist ventilation unit to be fitted to the property.

"We will continue to monitor the situation and would encourage Ms Bone to follow our advice for ventilating her home."