A FAMILY'S Christmas has been ruined after their home was infested with black mould.

Sue Scott said her two daughters, Lisa and Shannia, are now sleeping in the LOUNGE after the issue caused them breathing problems.

Sue told Plymouth Live the mould issue is caused by a hole in the ceiling of their Cornwall home.

Shannia, who is the primary carer for her mum, who suffers with severe asthma, COPD, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, as well as her sister, first noticed the issue in January.

She said she has lodged several complaints with the housing association, Cornwall Housing, but the hole is still there.

Shannia said: "I noticed a lot of black mould in my younger sister's bedroom and it was wet, like the floor felt wet and the wall was damp."

But she said the council have come up with "excuse after excuse" as to why they can't fix the roof, and claims she has called to complain more than 100 times.

She added: "The water damage in my mum’s room is visible, the wall is actually starting to crumble on the inside. I found that water has actually gone through an electrical plug socket in my mum’s room."

Shannia also said that sentimental furniture had been destroyed.

And to make matters worse, the family all suffer severely with asthma – which they say is worsened by the mouldy conditions they're forced to live in.

Most read in News

It is taken extremely seriously within the family after Shannia's brother passed away from an asthma attack 18-years ago in an incident that was not related to their mouldy home.

Shannia said: "We’ve all had very bad asthma and we’ve become ill because of the damp in the house. Our doctors actually wrote a letter to our council to say how ill our health had become.

“My sister's bedroom is so full of black mould I had to clean it myself, she can’t use that room because it's too damp and cold.

“The wallpaper is all coming off the wall. Her mattress on her bed, her clothes and shoes, which she saved her money for, were all covered in black mould. Her mattress, I turned her mattress over, and there was thick mould all over it.

"With her having severe asthma she cannot sleep in there, she’s up half the night coughing and struggling to breathe."

Shannia said she and her sisters now keep their clothes in the lounge, which is also where they sleep, to escape the mould.

The family have now decided they want to move back to the East Midlands, where they are originally from, but face housing issues.

A spokesperson from Cornwall Housing said: "We are sorry that Ms Scott has had a delay in repairs to her home. Due to restrictions caused by the pandemic, we are still working to deliver a backlog of works on our properties which is continuing to have an effect on our scheduling.

"We are working on an action plan to ensure this doesn’t continue in the future. Our contractor will be in touch today to see what can be done until we can complete the works in the new year."

Source: Read Full Article