Fears for children’s health in crowded council flat

Eleanor Simonite, her partner Rob and their three children live in a one-bedroom council flat in Rawmarsh, where a fungal substance has coated walls, carpets, window surfaces and clothes.

Rochdale youngster Awaab Ishak was just five when he died in December 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by exposure to mould in his family’s council flat, in a case which made national headlines following the boy’s inquest last November.

Eleanor said she was scared about the health risk of her 11-month-old son Vincent from being exposed to damp and mould, adding: “He deserves better than this.”

The worried mum said she had first made an application to Rotherham Council regarding moving to a more “liveable” home for her family in 2020 which was rejected, but the family had to reapply once she found out she was pregnant.

“It’s been a horrible situation,” she said.

“Our family has tried to move into larger accommodation only to be told when I was pregnant that we needed to re-apply.

“That should have made it even more clear that we needed a bigger place. I don’t think we were deemed a priority.

“A housing officer from RMBC advised us that we needed to make the living room another bedroom to ease any overcrowding issues we had.

“This left us baffled because it means we have no living space.

“We feel cramped trying to live here as a family.”

Eleanor said the mould had started growing in the Burkinshaw Avenue flat around the same time she asked for a larger council property and had “got out of hand”.

She added: “The mould continued to spread further into our wardrobes which made our clothes filthy and grimy.

“No matter how much we try to clean the mould, it will not go away.

“We have had to put tin foil on the walls to cover the mould so that we don’t have to see it.

“It’s like living in slum conditions because there are so many of us tightly squeezed into this filthy flat, with mould growing everywhere.

“It’s simply horrendous living here and it gives me nightmares because I fear my son will develop a health condition from this flat like the dreadful story which happened to Awaab Ishak.

“He’s only a baby and deserves better than this.”

Ms Simonite said the family had been blamed for the mould and damp but were suffering from cost-of-living pressures which were out of their control.

“Basically, the housing officer came a few months ago and said the mould was our own fault for not putting the heating on and for having so much furniture,” Eleanor said.

“We tried to explain that we don’t have the money to put the heating on because neither me or Rob are working at the moment and we rely on the council to live.

“Our home is freezing, cold and dirty because of the mould.

“The solution provided by the council officer was a £5 cleaning product called HG Mould Remover Spray, which didn’t work.

“It’s horrendous that an 11-month-old baby boy is living in this.

“We have tried to protect our children from the physical and emotional harm that it has all caused them.

“No-one should have to suffer as much as we have.”

Wentworth & Dearne MP John Healey contacted RMBC on Eleanor’s behalf and was told that the council did not think the property was “overcrowded” but she may be able to reapply for larger accommodation when her son turned one.

A RMBC spokesperson said they would be carrying out mould treatment as a “matter of urgency and advice” and were aware of a “future need” for alternative accommodation.