A disabled pensioner has shared horrifying photos of the "disgusting" state of her flat which is riddled with damp and mould. Retired Rosie Spicer, who suffers with serious lung issues, cannot even use her cooker because it is filled with mould.
The 69-year-old, from Adel in Leeds, has also seen slugs inside her flat, with fungus growing on the wet floors. The former catering chef suffers with lung condition emphysema and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and says her health has got worse because of the poor state of her flat, which also has ripped up flooring and missing and broken tiles.
Rosie can also only use an airfryer to cook her meals because the inside of her cooker is coated in green mould, Leeds Live reports. She used to cook food for charity after she was forced to stop working, but cannot even do that now because her home is so unsanitary.
The retiree says the problems started with a leak in the bathroom, which spread through the floorboards into the hallway and then the kitchen. She has to use a mobility scooter to get around, saying she gets out of breath just walking between rooms in her home, and also has a nebuliser machine and oxygen in her room.
She says she has reported the issues to Leeds City Council and while people have called round to fix the problems, she is still suffering with the same issues. Rosie hopes that by raising the issues she is suffering with, she can help other people in the same situation.
She said: “It’s supposed to be for retired people and they don’t do anything, it’s disgusting, it’s not in a bad area. I can’t even work, I was working before but it made me stop, I’m retired but I worked doing cooking for charity giving back but I can’t do that now. If I walk from my room to my bathroom I’m out of breath straight away, it’s made me more ill.
“The leak started from the bathroom, it spread through the floorboards and into the hallway, around to the kitchen. I was getting slugs coming in, they were coming in because of the damp, they were horrible. I went to the toilet and stood on one of them.
“My cooker has got mould. I can’t use it and can’t afford to get a new one. I got to use an air fryer.”
She continued: “I want to highlight how many are in this same situation. I mean if I had lots of money I would've done it all myself and got people to do it for me, I shouldn’t be in this situation.”
She also fears her entire home needs rewiring because it is unsafe and claims that she was forced to once use a baby's potty while works were being undertaken in the bathroom.
Rosie said issues like this "shouldn’t be happening in this day and age" adding: "I've never known anything like it."
Leeds Live contacted the council about the repairs at the property and said they are "working with the tenant to agree a plan for delivering" the repairs.
A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of an outstanding repair issue and have agreed a schedule of works to be completed. We are currently working with the tenant to agree a plan for delivering these.”
