A mum spoke of her anger after being sued by the landlord of a house she claims was so dangerous her children were hospitalised by a suspected carbon monoxide leak.
Shantelle Williams says during her time at the house in Stanton Crescent, Kirkby, mounds of rubbish, including hypodermic needles, had been dumped in the garden, doors and windows were broken and the boiler did not work.
As well as the gas incident, Shantelle claimed one of her young boys fell after leaning against loose spindles in the staircase, and in recent weeks a faulty electrical circuit board caught fire in the early hours of the morning.
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After more than a year of problems, the house was inspected by Environmental Health officers from Knowsley Council.
The inspection report identified a shocking raft of hazards and a letter was delivered to landlord John Potter, trading as J&D Services, in October, warning him to make immediate improvements.
Support worker Shantelle, mum to Kai, 10, and Tyler, five, says the most terrifying incident came during last summer.
The 30-year-old told the ECHO: "Both of the boys had been complaining of headaches. I thought they were just being typical boys but a family member came round and when she got home she rang me and said 'Shantelle, I have got a really bad headache'.
"I started to panic and I rang British Gas. They came out and had to turn everything off. They told me it's better to leave the property and I took the boys to Ormskirk Hospital.
"The doctors said they had high levels of carbon monoxide in their systems but they were ok in the end."
Shantelle shared a copy of a gas safety warning notice from the engineer which visited the property, which states: "Possible smell from boiler, at risk, do not use, flue needs sealing."
Despite the hazardous state of the property, J&D Services has now launched legal action over alleged rent arrears - with Shantelle bringing a counter claim over failure to keep the property fit for human habitation.
Mr Potter also owns J&D Estate Agents through which Shantelle rented the property.
In legal documents seen by the ECHO, J&D denies failing to maintain the property and claims repairs had been hampered by Shantelle not allowing workmen access.
However Shantelle says she was in regular contact with J&D Estate Agents and spent in the region of £10,000 of her own money making the house habitable.
Shantelle and her sons were supposed to move into the house on July 2020 after her relationship with her ex-partner ended.
But a lack of hot water and heating meant Shantelle and her boys had to stay with her ex-partner for weeks before they could move in.
She told the ECHO: "I was quite desperate for a house. I had left my partner and this was up for rent.
"When I went to view it, it was in a bad way. But the estate agent said don't worry, all the repairs will be done by the time you move in.
"Two weeks later I signed the contract, but not one repair had been done.
"The front door did not shut properly, it was jammed shut, and it was the same with most of the windows in the house.
"In the kitchen they had a piece of washing up line holding the window shut and tied round the taps in the sink.
"I could not move in for weeks because the boiler was not working and there was no hot water."
Despite the problems with the property, Shantelle claimed she was not offered a discount.
When she eventually moved in, she described how mounds of rubbish were present in both the front and back gardens, including needles strewn in the grass.
J&D claim the rubbish was not there when the house was let and had been "thrown over the fence from a neighbouring property" and said they arranged for it to be cleared.
In an email sent to J&D on July 6, 2020, seen by the ECHO: Shantelle wrote: "I am just in disbelief, there is a wire keeping the kitchen window locked, it is broken and does not lock.
"The whole of one of the bedroom windows is literally about to fall out, one of the bedroom windows does not open which is a fire hazard, I was reassured all these problems would be fixed before I moved in.
"I have paid a lot of money to move in and now I can not move in because the house is not safe."
Other emails, sent later in the month, state: "I have been speaking to Shelter and Citizen's Advice and they have given me a lot of advice.
"You had me sign a contract when the house was not in a liveable condition. The boiler was not working, there is still no water coming from the bathroom tap and the shower does not work so I am still not able to move in."
When the ECHO contacted J&D Services, a representative of the company claimed it had complied with its legal obligations and denied the house was not fit for habitation.
However the firm said it could not go into further detail due to the ongoing legal case.
According to Knowsley Council's Environmental Health report, inspectors identified eight specific areas of hazard including damp and mould growth, excess cold due to the broken boiler, electrical hazards and risk of intruders due to the broken front door.
Shantelle added: "It's affected me really badly financially and it has also badly affected my mental health, especially when they were denying everything.
"It has been horrible, the state of the house has been disgraceful."
Shantelle says she has since been relocated by Knowsley Council, although there is still some weeks left on her tenancy.
The legal case is ongoing.
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