Horrendous images have shown mushrooms growing from the roof of a damp Scots council flat.
Mum-of-two Suzy has lifted the lid on the grim conditions her young family is enduring while living in temporary accommodation in Edinburgh. The 29-year-old says she has been forced to wash her children by the sink after a leak from a neighbour hit her bathroom.
She is now at her wits end after weeks of trying to deal with the issue, which is yet to he fixed.
Suzy told Edinburgh Live: I think lately my mood has been a lot more down, and I think that's because I'm stuck inside all the time waiting for someone to come round and fix the leak. It's toilet water nonetheless.
"It makes me feel rubbish in my parenting because I can't give my kids a bath, I have to do it by the sink and I'm trying to potty train my three year old. I can't do that! She won't go in there, and we can't use the light."
Electricians and plumbers have been to Suzy's flat but she says Edinburgh City Council has failed to solve the root of the problem with the leak still coming through and now mushrooms are sprouting on her ceiling.
She continued: "I'm frustrated, I'm sitting here waiting for plumbers and electricians every day but nothing is actually getting done upstairs. There is a horrific smell of damp is the bathroom, there's yellow splashed of water, up the side of the bath, all over the toilet.
"It's disgusting! It's really gross. Then, there were mushrooms.
"I've scraped them all away and bleached the whole place but there are still marks on the wall from the toilet water."
Suzy explained she called an electrician when she noticed water was filling up in the bathroom light on March 7. She was told not to use the light, but ultimately until the leak is fixed in the apartment above, there wasn't much that could be done.
Suzy said she was told earlier this month by the council that forced entry would be used in the flat above if the occupant wasn't in, but there was no sign of them. Through the weeks, dirty water has poured down through Suzy's bathroom, causing her nine year-old son to slip and fall, hurting himself.
Speaking about the state of the bathroom, she said she doesn't feel like it's safe to use the bathroom - especially to bathe the children.
She added: "My dad told me to keep it like that for the council to see, but I couldn't live like that and my kids need to use the toilet. I just couldn't leave it, and I was thinking about going to environmental health.
"All my life I've always been a pushover, I've never had a backbone, but when it comes to your kids it changes everything. You become a different person and it's not fair that they have to live like this."
Since Edinburgh spoke to Suzy and raised the issue with the council, an official has visited her to see just how bad things had become.
A council spokesperson said: “We’re really sorry for the ongoing issue and the distress it has caused. We’ve made several visits to the property but have not been able to gain access. We have arranged for a plumber to attend again today and we’ll take whatever action is required to address this issue and support all tenants involved.”
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