Wick woman said home is causing her “horrendous” problems

Asthmatic Clare Timms, 44, of Helyers Green, Wick, says her health problems have been added to by “out-of-control” anti-social behaviour in the area.

Clare suffers from a debilitating spinal injury as a result of a car crash more than 19 years ago. As well as battling on a day-by-day basis against constant pain, she is fighting severe anxiety and a situation, which she has described as “terrifying at best”.

She claimed that her flat, where she has lived for more than 20 months, was “over-run” with mould.

A tearful Clare said: “This place is hell on earth and I’m close to breaking point.

“The mould has given me a horrendous skin condition and has affected my lungs to the point where at times, it becomes difficult to breath.

“The water is clearly contaminated because both the hot and the cold flows mix together.

“On top of all this I was told by builders that I have raw sewage leaking into my bathroom.

“The anti-social behaviour here is out of control. I have been broken into three times while I’ve lived here.”

Another resident of Helyers Green, who fears for her safety and wishes to remain anonymous, also spoke out about her traumatic experience of living in the road.

The 48-year-old said: “I suffer from a severe form of osteoporosis. I have had to sleep on a sofa for months and I have already had two falls, the last one giving me a hairline fracture to my hip.

“I feel threatened and vulnerable to all the anti-social behaviour in Wick. If someone pushed me down in the street it could very easily become life-threatening.

“I desperately need the council to re-assess my condition and this home because I’m at my wits’ end.”

The anxious resident has also complained about contaminated water and being stalked and intimidated by men in Wick.

A spokeswoman for Arun District Council said: “An Envirovent unit was installed in Ms Timms’ property in June, 2010 following a couple of reports of damp/condensation and we have received no complaints about any damp problems since.

“However, our reactive repairs manager did try to visit Ms Timms yesterday as he was in the area but was unable to inspect the property as Ms Timms was expecting a visitor. A visit has been rescheduled for next Tuesday.”

The spokeswoman added the council was also aware of the other woman’s problems and was trying to solve them.