Mum, 21, says she 'cries most nights' after moving her kids into mouldy Birmingham council flat
A mother-of-two from Birmingham said she "cries most nights" and feels like a "bad mum" because of the damp and freezing council flat she lives in with her children.
Martina Shurmer, 21, said her four-year-old daughter complains "I don't want to live here, I don't like it" at their home in Quinton.
They only moved into the council flat just over a year ago, but Ms Shurmer said she has been left feeling like a "bad mum" in the family's "leaky, mouldy" home.
She said both of her daughters, aged two and four, have suffered "non-stop" coughs and colds since they moved in.
She said their balcony is "rotting" and not even blasting the heating all day keeps the property warm.
There is a leak and a "hole in the kitchen" that brings in a freezing draft, she said.
"My depression's going down bad like I don't want to live here. Most nights I go to my room crying because I feel like it's disgusting for the kids," she said."I feel like a bad mom for them actually living here and I don't even want to stay here, I go to my nan's because that's how bad it is.
"My daughter says she doesn't want to live here - she just says she doesn't like it. She says it's cold."Ms Shurmer said the problems have been ongoing for months, with her "losing count" of how many complaints she's raised to Birmingham City Council.
She said: "My window's got mould all over it, the balcony door is rotting away.
"The draft is coming through there and my kitchen as the window doesn't shut properly. There's mould around the flat, I've tried to clean it with soapy water.""I keep calling up the council."
"It's all leaking. It's got black mould around it as well. It does smell in the property, I have to spray every day."She added: "It's cold, I have to have the heating on all the time, but normally that doesn't even help. I put a blanket around me but it's still cold. [The kids] are getting ill because of how cold it is, they keep coughing as well."My main concern is my two babies," she said, adding she "had to chuck loads of clothes and bedding away" after they grew mould.
"There's nowhere to put the clothes, where the cold air's coming through, it's not drying them. They're still wet when I need them.
The council has vowed to have a contractor investigate "why so many complaints had to be raised".
In a statement, they said: "We are very sorry for the impact that the leak has had on this tenant. We have raised the issue with our contractor and will investigate why so many complaints had to be raised.
"We have told our contractor to urgently agree an action plan with the tenant for stopping the leak and treating the damp and mould so it is kept at bay."