Rochdale vigil marks anniversary of Awaab Ishak's death

The two-year-old died due to a respiratory condition linked to mould in his Rochdale home, an inquest found

A vigil has been held to mark the third anniversary of the death of Awaab Ishak, a toddler who died due to a respiratory condition linked to damp and mould in his home.

The two-year-old died in 2020 in hospital, an inquest found.

The vigil, which took place on the Lviv bridge in Rochdale, was organised by the Greater Manchester Tenants Union.

Council leader Neil Emmott spoke at the event, calling for "lessons to be learned" from Awaab's death.

"People need to learn lessons from what happened," Mr Emmott said at the vigil on Thursday.

"Let's make sure that our voices are heard loud and clear, that there are no more deaths or hospitalisations due to mould and other defects in social housing.

"No amount of warm words can ever bring that little boy back - but we can make sure that it was not in vain, and that in future things will be better."

Awaab's death led to a widespread change in attitudes in Britain on mould and damp in housing

The Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) Freehold estate home where Awaab lived caused him "prolonged exposure to mould", the coroner's report noted after his death, adding "action to treat and prevent the mould, was not taken".

Awaab's death led to a widespread change in attitudes in the UK on mould and damp in housing.

In July the Social Housing Act came into force and as part of that the government committed to consult on Awaab's Law.

The law would set out new requirements for landlords to address hazards such as damp and mould in social homes.

It caused change at RBH, which launched a review of what went wrong and why.

• Family demands 'punishment' for boy's mould death

• Mould death landlord boss says lessons learned

• Widespread failings at mould death housing group

But Greater Manchester Tenant's Union (GMTU) said no amount of change can reverse what has already happened.

"We remember the pain and suffering of his family", GMTU organiser Ben Clay told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"They asked for help on numerous occasions but they were terribly let down."