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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Liam Thorp & Laura Sharman

Mum's fears as children fall ill in damp, mouldy house with leak dripping into bedroom

A mum is living in fear with black mould and constant damp making her children ill.

Nicole Dutton, 31, said she is living in squalid conditions with her daughters Ava, nine, Annie, five, and Arla, three.

A leak has been dripping into Annie's bedroom and she was recently rushed to hospital with asthma.

Nicole is more worried than ever following the tragic death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak in Rochdale after a housing association failed to tackle black mould at his home.

She has been plagued with damp and mould since moving into her apartment seven months ago in Widnes, Cheshire.

And the mum said Halton Housing has not taken enough action to address the situation.

"There is a leak dripping directly into my five-year-old's room where she sleeps," she said.

Nicole said it is hard to heat her home, it is so damp (Liverpool Echo)

"I was in hospital with her the other day because of her asthma, all the kids have bad chests and colds all the time," she told the Liverpool Echo.

The wallpaper in one room of Nicole's flat has almost entirely come away from the wall while black mould lines her windows and patches of damp are spread across the ceiling.

"There is black mould everywhere and one of the walls is literally coming apart," Nicole said.

"My hallway carpets are damp all the time. I am putting the heating on all the time just to try and keep the place a bit warm but I can't afford it."

The mum said she has tried to contact Halton Housing multiple times but has not had the problems fixed.

Nicole with Ava, Arla and Annie (Liverpool Echo)

She said: "I don't want to move because my kids are settled here but I just want them to come out and make repairs to the flat.

"A roofer did come out and said the place was riddled with damp and black mould."

Halton Housing claimed they were only made aware of the situation at the end of November and have since started repair work.

A spokesperson said: "Since we were made aware of this issue by the customer on November 29, we visited the property with a contractor on November 30 to assess the work required, and remedial work started on December 2.

"The customer's wellbeing remains our priority."

She is worried for her children's health and said not enough action has been taken (Liverpool Echo)

Parents across the UK are concerned of mould following the tragic death of two-year-old Awaab.

Nicole said: "I didn't know about the little boy in Rochdale until I saw it two days ago when my little girl was in hospital.

"It made me so worried with my kids living in a damp, mouldy house."

Another mum, in Liverpool, shared shocking images of large patches of mould and fungus growing out of her walls.

She said she too is hugely worried about the health of her child and fears that one day she might not wake up.

Sanctuary Housing, which owns the property, stressed that repair works have been recently carried out at her flat and that they are committed to improving her situation.

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