Northamptonshire: Woman says mould is making her life a nightmare

Olivia, 10, says the mould has made her asthma so bad that she has had to go to hospital

A housing association tenant has said her family's life has become a nightmare because her furniture has been ruined by mould.

Lisa Duroe, who lives in Corby, Northamptonshire, said the mould and damp in her flat had made her daughter's asthma worse.

She has had to throw the family's beds away and now sleeps on a mattress with her children in the living room.

The Riverside Group Housing Association said it was helping the family.

Ms Duroe, 34, and her family spent eleven weeks in a hotel before Christmas because their heating and hot water were not working.

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When they returned to their flat, Ms Duroe was hoping the problems had been rectified but it soon became clear that the mould had left a trail of destruction.

Ms Duroe says there is mould on the walls and ceiling of the flat

She said: "Both my children's beds and my bed had got mould and it ruined it all so I had to throw them away.

"The couch in the living room was destroyed - it was damp, it smelled and everything was rotten."

"Currently, there's three of us sleeping on a double mattress in the living room," she added.

She said there was also mould all over the walls and on the ceiling in the bathroom.

'Every day I cry'

Ms Duroe said the situation was having an impact on her children's health: "Olivia's got brittle asthma so she's really struggled - she's had to have quite a lot of time off school because she keeps getting chest infections.

"My mental health is absolutely crazy at the moment. Every day I cry because I want to be back to normal."

Olivia, 10, said: "My chest gets really bad when it gets cold and there's mould around, so I got really poorly and I ended up in hospital for two days".

Ms Duroe says she cries every day because she wants things to get back to normal

The Riverside Group Housing Association gave Ms Duroe £175 to cover the costs of cleaning the flat and replacing the food lost while the family was in the hotel, but she feels it should replace the beds and the sofa.

She said: "I haven't asked for the world, I haven't asked for thousands, all I want them to do is replace what's been ruined so the kids can go to bed peacefully at night."

The Riverside Group Housing Association said: "We're truly sorry that Ms Duroe has experienced recurring problems within her home and we have worked with her to resolve the issue as effectively as possible, including making several payments which she has accepted.

"We had offered Ms Duroe alternative accommodation whilst repairs were completed so she and her family had a safe, warm place to stay."

"To support Ms Duroe as much as possible while the family were displaced from their home, we covered out-of-pocket expenses such as food at the hotel.

The Housing Association added that Ms Duroe made the decision to dispose of her sofa and beds when she returned home, and it had made several payments to support her with various expenses including the purchase of replacement furniture.

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