Preston mum of seven-month-old baby left living in mould infested housing association flat

Shanice Innes, 18, who lives at Williams Lane, in Fulwood, with her partner Owen and son Jaxon says she was told by Progress Housing Group in Leyland in November to "open her windows and not to put the heating on" to fix the problem which started in August last year. Shanice, who is also training to be a midwife, moved into her flat last July. She says damp in the apartment has caused mould in every room and now fears it will impact on her young son’s health, particularly after the tragic death of Rochdale toddler Awaab Ishak, who died after breathing in severe levels of mould in his family’s flat.

Shanice says the problem began when she started noticing black spots in the living room a month later but thought it was just remnants of dirt from a previous tenant's bike. She said: "When I moved in last July there was nothing to worry about as it looked pristine so I had no concerns whatsoever. When I started to notice dark spots in the living room on the doors and walls I just thought it was from a previous tenant who owned a bike and that it was dirt from this, but then in the bathroom I started to notice fluffy, green stuff growing as a pipe from the bath was broke and wasn't draining water properly which I think caused the mould to form."

Upon further inspection she started to notice mould in the corners of the walls in her bedroom and contacted the housing group and spoke to a housing officer in mid November who informed her that the moisture level was through the roof and to not put her heating on and open the windows in winter.

She added: "I went into Jaxon's room and I picked up a pillow from his cot and both sides were completely covered in mould. All of his items beside the cot have been ruined. We have had to pull the carpet up. The skirting boards are coming off. It's just horrible. It is my first home with him so it is not what I expected. The mould is everywhere in the house, all up the bedroom walls, and Jaxon now has to sleep in bed with us.

"I rang them again last week again as bugs flew out from behind a picture frame and they asked did I want the bath panel which is covered in mould replacing, but that it was not an emergency. It's spreading everywhere and no-one is doing anything about it. The whole block of flats suffer with mould really bad. I don't want to have to move as it is a lovely place, I just want something done about this."

Shanice says Jaxon has had a slight cough since two months after they moved in and that she has even taken her little boy to the doctor for a health check up and, luckily, so far everything is fine, but she fears this may not stay the case if someone does not do anything about the problem.

She added: "They have said to use they are calling out tomorrow (Wednesday) to do a chemical wash but that will just sort the problem for a bit. It is not a long term solution. Just for someone to come round and see the deeper problem - it's not just coming from the outside of the walls it is coming from the inside and it is getting progressively worse. It's not habitable."

A spokesperson for Progress Housing Group said: “As a responsible landlord, we take all reports of damp and mould seriously. We have visited the tenant’s home to agree on the actions required to ensure her home is free from damp and mould. We will continue to monitor the situation to ensure there are no signs of damp and mould developing in the property.”