Middleton family blame hospital visits on mouldy home

Louis almost ended up in intensive care in his latest stint in hospital, his family says

The family of a three-year-old boy have said mould in their rented home has caused him to go to hospital seven times.

Louis, from Middleton, Rochdale, has developed chronic breathing problems while living in the property.

His family said mould keeps returning despite work to remove it from the walls.

The landlord, Riverside Group, said it would carry out more work following an "urgent" inspection.

Louis spent three days in hospital due to his condition this week - the seventh time he has spent time in hospital after struggling to breathe at home.

His father Kyle said: "He has his bloods done, he has his nebuliser and he was on oxygen.

"He was nearly in intensive care this time.

"When he was one year old he was first in.

"It's just getting worse. When his breathing comes out, it's like his heart is coming out of his chest."

The brick property has had issues with damp and mould since the family moved in.

Mould is on the skirting boards and walls in the family's home

Photographs show how it has spread across skirting boards and walls, after rising from the floor.

Following Louis' latest stint in hospital, the family have been moved into temporary accommodation.

They have previously been moved out of the property twice to enable Riverside to carry out remedial work.

The family said the mould quickly returned after both occasions.

Kyle said: "Before we moved back here we were told not to because it's unhealthy for the kids.

"The doctors aren't happy about it but Riverside won't do anything about it and when they do do something they're not doing a proper job."

Ian Gregg, executive director of asset services at Riverside, said: "We completed extensive damp remedial works at the home last week and were initially satisfied these addressed the concerns raised.

"However, in learning of her son's ill health yesterday and subsequent reports of ongoing damp within her flat, we arranged a further urgent inspection.

The family say the mould has quickly returned after remedial works

"The inspection has highlighted the need for some additional work to be undertaken which we have actioned. We will also be installing a Switchee device so we can monitor damp levels in the property in real time."

The family are one of a number on the Langley estate in Middleton being represented by the Greater Manchester Tenants Union (GMTU).

Daniel Isaac, of the GMTU, said: "We keep hearing news of the poor health of the children, seeing them being hospitalised.

"Being privy to the distress and trauma that they're facing at the moment and what we're finding is that Riverside are coming out, they're just painting over the mould and they're not doing the system work that's needed to bring these properties up to standard."

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