Fears family ill by mould in Cornwall Council owned flat

Liz Pannell says she has constantly contacted the council for two years about the problem but to no avail.

Liz says that the situation in the bathroom of the property is “absolutely awful” so she makes sure her eight-year-old daughter washes in the kitchen as she is worried the mould in the bathroom is dangerous.

Cornwall Housing, the council’s in-house accommodation company, has apologised for any distress which might have been caused to Liz and her family.

She 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. “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.

MD_DCM_Liz Pannell in her bedroom which has mould on the ceiling. She lives in a Cornwall Council owned property in Cowdray Close of Saltash and has had issues with damp and mould in her property for the past two years..

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 was told her home would be immediately treated, cleaned and ventilation installed. The work still hasn’t been carried out. “I resorted to contacting our local MP Sheryll Murray to help, who has told me she will look into it.”

Liz added: “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.”

She said neighbours’ properties in Cowdray Close, Saltash are also affected. “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. It’s almost discriminatory.”

She said there is a marked difference with her elderly in-laws’ council home over the border in Plymouth. “It amazes me how they seem to be taken care of, but, then again, their estate is quite new and ‘posh’. What I would give for a clean environment. It’s simply wrong. Why do we not deserve the same treatment?”

After Cornwall Council was contacted for a response about the Pannell family’s predicament, a spokesperson from Cornwall Housing 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.”