A Liverpool man living in a flat infested with horrific damp and mould says he is "terrified" to stay in his home because it is making him sick.
Gerard Francis suffers with severe depression and rheumatoid arthritis. He says the shocking condition of his flat in Dingle is making both conditions worse.
Gerard, 41, invited the ECHO into his flat in Wellington Road to view the conditions up close and as these images show, various rooms are infested with severe mould, damp and rotting walls.
READ MORE: Mum let go from Jaguar Land Rover job has new career suggested by her daughter
The smell of damp and mould hits you as soon as you enter the ground floor flat, with green mould surrounding the doorway. In the bathroom things are even worse, with bright green mould crawling up the walls to reach a ceiling that is essentially falling down.
Gerard says he is forced to mainly stay with relatives and when he is at his home he can only stay in the front room, where he has sleeping bags set up.
The house is owned by social housing provider Torus and Gerard and his brother Nicky say they have repeatedly asked for him to be moved out of the crumbling flat. Gerard requires a ground floor flat because of his arthritis and two bedrooms so that family members can stay to help care for him. Torus say they have offered temporary alternatives but Gerard says these haven't met his needs.
The housing provider said it takes maintenance reports "extremely seriously" but has apologised for the fact that repairs on the property have not progressed.
Speaking about the home he has lived in since 2001, Gerard said: "I used to be really proud of the house, I had everything decorated really nicely but now I'm just embarrassed. I don't ever want to bring anyone to my house, not even my closest friends.
"I don't want to be here. I have been living at my sister's or my mums.
"I'm currently taking extra-strong anti-depressants as well as strong painkillers for my rheumatoid arthritis and this is just making everything worse. I don't want to sit in this house and let it make me sick. I hate being here. I'm terrified of what I'm breathing in. You can't have any happiness in a place like this.
Speaking about Torus, he added: "They have ignored us. They have offered the same solutions in the past that didn't work. It's been terrible. I've lost my home. I'm still paying £90 a week to not live here and to be constantly worried.
"I've got no hope whatsoever, the hope of them doing anything is gone."
Gerard's brother Nicky Francis added: "We've told Torus that Gerard needs somewhere on the ground floor because of his arthritis. He also needs somewhere with a second bedroom as family members need to stay over to help looked after him.
"We've seen the way his personality has changed. He used to be laughing and joking but as things have got worse in the house his health has got worse and he has gone into himself.
"Why don't they want their tenants to have a healthy home? It feels like they are digging their heels in."
Gerard's case has also been taken up by local councillor Steve Munby, who has now written to Torus.
In a response to questions from the ECHO, Kevin Clifford, Torus head of maintenance, said: "We take all repair and maintenance reports extremely seriously and apologise to the customer that on this occasion the repairs have not progressed as quickly as we would have liked.
“Please be assured that we are continuing to work closely with the customer and his family to resolve the issue. Alternative, temporary accommodation has previously been offered so works can be carried out, a surveyor has revisited the property this morning with the customer.
"The customer still does not wish to move out whilst the work is completed, but a full programme of repairs has been raised, to be completed as soon as possible. In the interim, we have arranged a fungi wash, which kills and inhibits the growth of mould, preventing immediate re-growth.
“We are continuing to attempt to gain access to the upstairs property which we believe is the source of the leak, including looking to legally force access tomorrow to carry out emergency essential works to isolate the leak.
“Anyone looking for a move from their existing home, would need to go through Property Pool Plus (PPP) in line with Liverpool Council’s Allocation Policy. The customer will continue to be supported by his Neighbourhood Officer to ensure his PPP application is updated to bid on homes should he wish to pursue a permanent move, they will remain in contact and keep him updated on progress throughout the process. The offer for a move into temporary accommodation remains open, should the customer change their mind.
“We encourage customers to contact us to report issues, so we can look to act as quickly as possible and to resolve issues to their satisfaction.”
READ MORE:
Disgust at the way Pete Price was treated at the Grand National
Mum let go from Jaguar Land Rover job has new career suggested by her daughter
'Sad news' as food stall to close but staff member says McDonalds 'just one thing on top of another'
Teen who threw fireworks at Suites Hotel protest 'was only there for the anarchy'
