'Nobody should have to live like this' Couple tell of mould nightmare
This is the disgusting mould plastering the walls of a couple's council flat in Hednesford.
Gail and Chris Jones said a bungled boiler fitting at their home in October 2013 has led to the 'horrendous' living conditions in their only bedroom
The couple said the mould has caused between £1,000 and £2,000 of damage to furniture and clothes, has made their home smell and irritated their chronic asthma.
Mrs Jones, 48, said: "There is literally brown sludge running down my walls, it's disgusting.
"Nobody should have to live like this. There are black flies in the bedroom and we have to sleep in the living room sometimes because the fly spray gets pretty toxic.
"But it's a one-bedroom flat so there aren't too many other places to go."
She said the mould started to appear a couple of months after engineers from PH Jones fitted a new boiler at the flat on Littleworth Road on behalf of Cannock Chase Council.
Mrs Jones said the workers displaced roof tiles in the process, which she suspected was the root cause of the problem.
The full-time carer for husband Chris, 52, who has epilepsy, maintained the pair had relentlessly complained to the council but the authority had denied culpability.
She said inspectors had even put mould down to 'rising damp' even though their flat was on the first floor.
"It's insulting," said Mrs Jones. "Chris has lived here for eight years and there was never any mould until after the boiler was fitted. It is disgusting they should not just leave us to live in a mess like this. We are looking to move somewhere else now."
Responding to the problem Ian Tennant, the council's head of housing, blamed the mould on condensation.
He said: "As a result of the problems at Mr and Mrs Jones`s home, a survey has been undertaken by a specialist external damp and condensation company.
"The survey identified that the mould growth results from condensation and not from a roof leak.
"In order to address the problem a complete property ventilation system is to be installed."
Mrs Jones added it was welcome that some action was finally been taken but branded it 'unacceptable' that her and her husband have had to put up with the mould for so long.
