Black mould in my council home put me in hospital, claims disabled woman

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A disabled family living in a council flat riddled with black mould say the condition of their home is making their health worse.

Orion Diaram is a carer for his wife, Chicca, and their son Owen, both of whom have fibromyalgia - a chronic pain condition that leaves Ms Diaram often needing to use a wheelchair to get around.

Their home in Cottenham is owned by South Cambridgeshire District Council and has black mould spreading from the corners of the ceilings and rising up from the floors.

Black mould in the Diaram's son's bedroom Credit: ITV Anglia

Last month Ms Diaram was rushed to hospital in an ambulance with pneumonia, she also suffered a heart attack.

She thinks that the damp and mould in the home they have lived in for four years was to blame.

She said: "Orion had to phone up the first first responders, and they came out, and then I had blues and twos up to hospital.

"I had pneumonia and I also had a heart attack due to the mould."

Chicca in hospital with pneumonia Credit: Chicca Diaram

The couple said they were terrified it would happen again, unless the council intervened.

South Cambridgeshire District Council said it had surveyed the bungalow and installed insulation and ventilation and would put in new windows. A spokesman added that they will follow up on the reports of black mould, and said: "This home has already been adapted to make it as easy as possible to move around in a wheelchair.

"We've laid hard flooring, adapted the kitchen, moved a wall, widened and levelled doorways and installed a ramp."

Mould in the Diaram home in South Cambridgeshire Credit: ITV Anglia

Mr Diaram said: "They did do the adaptions, but the mould is still here. The damp is still here.

"They had about three or four people come to visit the house, not during the year that they said.

"During the four years that we've been here, they've had three or four people. None of them got back to us."

The council also said the couple were offered another home but the offer was turned down.

The couple said this was because it was not wheelchair-accessible and added that that property had mould issues too.

The couple said they felt their health conditions should make them a top priority for the council, but they feel they have been ignored.

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