Bristol man left living in damp and mouldy home for four years

• Watch Richard Payne's report

A social housing provider has apologised to one of its tenants who says he spent years complaining about damp and mould in one of their Bristol properties. 

Shay Flower claims his living conditions became so bad he developed severe asthma.

Sovereign Housing Association has now promised to move Mr Flower within a few days after being contacted by ITV News.

"They've done multiple mould assessments," said the 31-year-old. "They said, 'yes, you have damp in your bathroom' - they've done nothing about it.

"They've whitewashed it."

Mr Flower says he spent seven years on the waiting list for a home in Bristol, but said when he secured the one-bed ground floor flat in the city centre, he was reluctant to take it.

"The day I moved in I noticed mould all over my doors," he added.

"I painted over 20 times. I've got mould coming up everywhere - in my kitchen,  in my hallway, in my bathroom."

Mr Flower, a former builder, claims rather than repairing a bathroom wall riddled with mould it was simply tiled over.

Sovereign, which owns 60,000 properties across the South West, agreed to ITV News' request to visit Mr Flower and the property.

Housing Director Luke Bingham said: "I'd like to apologise to Shay because he's clearly not happy living where he is.

"Having spent time with him, I can understand why.

"It's taken a while. I think we have done work but clearly what we've done hasn't been enough.

"I think now we're in a position to move Shay away, to give him opportunities elsewhere and we'll take that time to go in (to the flat) and to do some further investigation." 

Shay's move will be temporary at first before a permanent place is found for him to live.

"It's been a long road, really long time suffering," he said.

"I'm just grateful that something is in place now, I didn't want to keep getting left here."