Girl, 11, living in mould-infested house 'struggles to breathe'

A furious mum says her 11-year-old daughter "can't breathe properly" in their housing association home because of severe mould.

Little Ashley Mcaulay now needs an inhaler despite not having asthma because, her mum Tanya claims, she's suffered as a result of damp.

Tanya, 34, alleges she's told Derwent Living of the problem but nothing has been done.

"Since we moved into this property, when my daughter Ashley gets a cold or cough she gets an inhaler because she can't breathe properly. She can't seem to get it off her chest," the mum told Derby Telegraph.

"It started to stain, you could see the beams through the ceiling, bits of damp came through, that's when I reported it.

"I sent them pictures and they just said it was damp and sent an email back explaining how you should deal with damp in a property."

Tanya, who has osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia, says her daughter's room in Sinfin, Derby, was damaged after heavy rain earlier this month. Rainwater poured through a hole in the ceiling.

The mother added: "I tried to explain that I can't fix my ceiling, I told them I'm disabled and I can't get up a ladder to fix the ceiling.

"I just want the property back to a decent standard."

Derwent Living is booked for it to be fixed on December 9, almost four weeks later.

"I'm over Sh65, 000 (£500) in credit with them on my rent so I want my repairs doing, I have damp all through my house and my windows in every room are rotten and have mould all over," the former care worker said.

And Tanya's partner Aaron Owen, 35, also slammed the association.

He said: "I shouldn't be dealing with the damage because it's their property. They're quick to remind you it's their property if you're short on your rent.

"There's never any quality in their work. I've worked for councils before so I understand they're short on resources but they should take pride in their work."

Andy Nickels, head of asset management at Derwent Living said:  “ We replaced some broken tiles on Ms Mcaulay’s roof following a report of a leak in her bedroom. We have also booked a follow-up appointment for Monday 25 November to determine what further work needs to be carried out and to look at the mould and damp Ms Mcaulay has reported since the leak in the bedroom.

"We will continue to work closely with Ms Mcaulay to support her with her property and its care."