A mum living in a mouldy house with her two young children claims the "disgusting" conditions are putting her and her children in serious danger.
Lauren Groves - mum to Maisie, 7, and Harvey, 1 - said she is living in "fear" after battling for improvements to her home, which she describes as a "health and safety hazard" with a "vile" smell.
Lauren rents her home from Cobalt Housing and claims to have been battling the company for improvements for three years, to no avail.
The 30-year-old claims her house is "falling apart", with plug sockets becoming loose, tiles falling from the walls and mould covering the ceilings of their home in Liverpool.
Lauren's struggles come just days after an inquest found a little boy who passed away in 2020 in Manchester died due to black mould in his home that was "unfit for human habitation".
Awaab Ishak had celebrated his second birthday just a week before he died from a respiratory condition in December 2020.
He lived in a one-bedroom flat with his parents Aisha Aminin and Faisal Abdullah, who had previously complained to Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) about the mould, an inquest was told.
Desperate Lauren now fears the home is causing serious "danger" to her kids, claiming Harvey has already been injured by a falling cupboard door.
"It is really affecting me now, I feel constantly depressed, and anxious and I just don't feel like myself anymore, as a mum it is really tough," Lauren said.
"My seven-year-old daughter Maisie has a rare condition that causes her to have a low immune system, the dampness and mould are so dangerous to her.
"My son keeps getting chest infections one after another which just isn't normal. He is also at a young age where he just wants to explore things, but the exposed wires and hot pipes are just so dangerous to him.
"The smell is also absolutely vile, it makes me feel disgusting and I refuse to let people come around, I am just so embarrassed."
The mum claims the issues first began three years ago when she rang Cobalt Housing after she discovered a leak in the kitchen ceiling.
Someone from the company allegedly came around to inspect the property, telling Lauren she "would need a new kitchen" and "the toilet would need looking at".
However, the mum claims no changes were made.
She said: "I was eventually told by the company that I wasn't eligible for a new kitchen for at least five years despite being told I would.
"I soon fell pregnant with Harvey and spent most of my time in the hospital, but after he was born I started raising issues again.
"Someone came to look at my toilet and found that the pipes were blocked by a huge object that was too big to move."
Lauren said workers had to take off the toilet to check the pipes and had left a "huge hole" in the floor where they put it back on.
The side of the bath was taken off too, exposing hot pipes which she claimed were a "serious danger" to her kids.
"Recently a surveyor came to look at the house and even they said I need a new kitchen," she said.
"I feel like I am not being taken seriously."
Lauren is now in a housing pool and ideally needs a three-bedroom house to accommodate herself and her children.
She added: "As my daughter is poorly quite a lot, I have to share a room with my son Harvey but he wakes up at the slightest noise.
"I am getting absolutely no sleep and the stress it is causing me is unbelievable.
"I just can't believe Cobalt are happy to leave me in a house which is such a huge danger two, my two children."
Cobalt Housing has been contacted for comment.
