Bristol: Mothers say council refusing to repair mouldy flats

Several families reported persistent mould in their flats

Mothers living in tower blocks say their calls for help to get rid of mould in their flats are being ignored.

Several families living in St Jude's in Bristol said they feared it was damaging to their children's health.

Many of them marched on Bristol City Council's housing department on Tuesday, after the authority reportedly refused to set a meeting with them.

The council said the blocks in St Jude's were top of the list for repairs.

Muna Hussein believes her son's asthma is exacerbated by mould in her council-owned flat

St Jude's resident Muna Hussein told BBC West her seven-year-old son has asthma, and she is worried about what the mould in her flat could do to his health.

For the last four years, both her children have slept in her bedroom, because their own is infested with mould.

"This is not liveable," she said.

"The council told me I just need to paint, move around the furniture, make sure everything is not crowded.

"They sent someone in once or twice just to paint over it."

Ms Hussein added that the family spends as much time outside as possible, to avoid having to spend time near the mould.

Ms Hussein says she takes her son Maahir outside as often as possible, so he can breath cleaner air

Just across the road, 16-year-old Salma lives in a flat with her family.

She has lived here since she was born, and says mould has been a problem there for as long as she can remember, and says the family always keeps the windows open to try and aerate the flat.

Salma says both her brothers have been on antibiotics in the past for infections, which she says doctors suggested could be caused by their poor living conditions.

The families say the council has sent people out to paint over the mould but it reappears

"We did call the council a few times to fix it," she said.

"They would come and paint it and fix it up, but after a week or two it would turn back to mould and the paint would start to peel away."

She added: "In winter the whole top of the shower goes blackish and that would happen every three weeks or so."

Residents marched on Bristol City Council's housing department, carrying placards voicing their complaints

At Tuesday's march, families demanded the city council's head of repairs meet them to discuss their concerns.

They believe between 50 and 60 families have complained at community meetings of mouldy flats.

They carried placards with slogans like "St Jude's buildings not safe" and "we need an action".

Residents have been sent a letter from the council's head of housing repairs and maintenance, explaining the council's plan for improvements to its properties in St Jude's.

It explained: "All blocks in St Jude's are currently top of the planned programme improvement list with officers actively working on developing a programme of works for each block.

"Over the past few months our teams have been drawing up major refurbishment plans that include your block and other blocks in the area.

"Projects include roof replacement works, new windows and doors, structural repairs, bin store repairs, new external wall insulation, additional fire safety measures, external and internal decorations, communal flooring works and asbestos removal."

It added that a final, detailed plan would be available in the next few weeks.