Mum hits out at 'appalling' conditions in her mould-infested home

Louise Webber, 29, has lived with husband, Steve, and her three children in a Colchester flat for almost six years.

But she says she has reached breaking point due to a lack of action surrounding mould and damp in the property in Raymouth House, off Earlswood Way, Colchester.

The flats are provided by Genesis Housing and Louise says several neighbours have battled similar problems over the years.

She also says her youngest child, Keeley, one, has suffered breathing problems from an early age which she says is due to the conditions.

“It’s just getting to be too much, “ she said.

“I have started to feel really down about it.

“There are now five of us left in a block of 12, lots of people have left.

“I have been told I am a priority for housing but I am struggling to find anywhere.

“My youngest has been in and out of hospital.”

Louise looks after Oliver, five, Oscar, four, and Keeley full-time and suffers with back pain.

Her husband works as a lollipop man but suffers with schizophrenia and psychosis.

“It hasn’t been good for my husband’s mental health,” said Louise.

“It is putting a real strain on us, our kids all go to the nearby Montgomery School so I don’t really want to move them.

“Surely the association should care more about the people living here.

“They come to clean the walls but within three days the mould is back.

“We have puddles of water on the floor and half my sofa has rotted away.”

Louise said the flat was perfectly habitable for the first year of her family’s residency but gradually the problems worsened.

She fears Genesis is trying to force tenants out so the housing association can demolish the building.

“Enough is enough,” she said.

“I have had to move all of my possessions into my bedroom so they aren’t ruined. It isn’t right.”

A spokesman for Genesis Housing confirmed residents are being being moved in a phased process while a solution is found.

He said: “Genesis has been trying to tackle the damp and mould issues at Raymouth House for some time and we acknowledge the distress it has caused residents, for which we apologise.

“The building requires significant action to address the problem and as such, residents are being decanted in a phased way.

“In the meantime, our contractor is carrying out remedial works to reduce the damp and mould in those flats which remain tenanted.

“This treatment is only effective for a limited period and needs to be repeated, which it will be in this particular case.”