Cornwall mum says black mould in her home is making her family ill
A Cornwall mother says her family has been forced to sleep in one room due to black mould in the property, which is making them all unwell.
Liz Pannell lives in the council-owned flat in Saltash with her eight-year-old daughter and husband Simon.
Liz doesn’t let her daughter wash in the bathroom anymore due to worries over the black mould she calls “absolutely awful”.
Cornwall Housing, the council’s in-house accommodation company, has apologised for any distress which might have been caused to Liz and her family.
Liz said: “We, and our neighbours, live on the breadline and in some of the much older housing. We’ve lived here for five years now. It’s a lovely neighbourhood, but we struggle with one similar issue. The mould in our homes.
“We have black mould throughout our ground floor flat. I continue to scrub and clean every week, even re-paint yet it still returns. Ours, and our daughter’s room, has it, spread out.
“Our room specifically - on our ceiling, walls, even under our mattress - is covered in mould as it’s attaching itself to furniture now.”
Liz says that for the past two years she has suffered with an unknown illness, which has seen her going in and out of hospital.
She said: “I was, prior to three-or-so years ago, a long distance runner and in top health. Since then I’ve been suffering from respiratory problems including breathlessness and even fainting spells, as well as gastrointestinal problems, migraines, fatigue, nausea and diarrhoea, resulting in rapid loss of weight, leading to anxiety and depression.”
She is sure this is all down to the mould in the flat. Liz is now concerned for her family as her daughter has a constant cough and has to use an inhaler, while husband Simon has also developed a severe cough.
Liz said a senior officer from the council visited the flat and was “horrified and very apologetic admitting proper safety checks may not have been done”.
She said she was told her home would be immediately treated, cleaned and ventilation installed, but the work still hasn’t been carried out.
Liz said: “I resorted to contacting our local MP Sheryll Murray to help, who has told me she will look into it.
“We are all sleeping in the living room as there’s only a small amount of mould in there, as I’m completely aware of how dangerous mould can be. I’m convinced this is why I’m so ill. I’m literally at my wits’ end.”
Liz said: “I want to stand up for those of us who, simply because we are at the bottom of the ladder, are still decent, hard-working people who deserve the same respect and treatment as any other ‘class’. We need to get this issue resolved.
A Cornwall Housing spokesperson said: “We take the safety of our tenants very seriously and we are sorry this matter has not been resolved and for any distress this may be causing the family.
“While we are unable to go into specific details, I can confirm that we have appointed a contractor to carry out the works and arrangements will be made with the tenant shortly.”
Credit: LDRS / Lee Trewhela