Mouldy home is making Pulborough family ill, doctor agrees

Wade Frewen and Naomi Roberts are desperate to move their family from their mouldy home. Photo by Steve Robards SR1801736

Pulborough GP Dr Ghazanfar has written to urge the family of four be moved as a matter of urgency after diagnosing mum Naomi Roberts of ‘chronic symptoms associated with the very extensive mould in her property’.Affinity Sutton, which owns the property in Mallard Court, has said it is arranging for a postitive pressure unit to be installed to reduce condensation issues.Naomi, 27, who lives in the flat with her two young children and partner Wade Frewen, said they couldn’t afford to rent anywhere else but they were desperate to be given a different home.She said: “My daughter’s nine months old and she’s just been put on an inhaler, we’ve been sleeping in the front room for a year, and they charge us Â£600.“Because I’m asthmatic, if I stay in the bedroom for five minutes, I can’t breathe.“I’ve got a doctor’s note to say this place is uninhabitable.“There’s four of us sleeping in a one room, paying for a two-bedroom flat.“It shouldn’t be like this, they’ve mould-washed it three times.”She said she had moved sentimental items to her mum’s house for fear they would be destroyed and the only room with carpet was the front room, and it was damp.“I have nothing left that isn’t covered in mould, it’s black as black can be, my walls are supposed to be lilac and they are black,” she explained.“We’re a full time working family, we get no help from the government, no benefits.“This is our hard-earned money getting wasted.“We got a new wardrobe just before August and by September all my clothes were mouldy.”Naomi said she admitted herself to A&E last weekend after having difficulty breathing and was treated for asthma.Her GP, Dr Ghanzanfar wrote a letter last November of his professional opinion that the family’s housing situation had ‘markedly exacerbated’ Naomi’s asthmatic symptoms, which include ‘chronic chest tighness, wheeze and cough’.He said the housing issues had also caused Naomi ‘considerable stress’ worrying about her own health and that of her young children.He wrote: “As her GP, it is my strong view that the current housing situation is proving very detrimental to both her physical and mental health and for all the reasons listed, I will be fully supportive of this lady and her young children having any and all priority possible to change their housing.”A spokesman for Affinity Sutton said: “We are aware of the ongoing issue with mould at this property and have been working with the tenants to manage it. “Our investigations have shown us that the mould is a result of condensation, not a defect in the property. “We have provided advice on how to reduce condensation in the home and have also carried out a specialist wash of the areas affected.“Because, despite this, the problem has persisted, our contractor is currently arranging the installation of a positive pressure unit.”

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