A MILFORD HAVEN mother has contacted The Herald to explain that she has been forced to seek medical attention for her two-year-old soon eight times due to the damp in her home.
Stacey Spillane, who says she was hospitalised twice due to the poor conditions, lives in a ground floor flat in Howarth Close with
Alfie, who will be three in July – but the fact that her living space sits below ground level has left her walls sopping wet and get repeatedly covered in black mould.
Alfie has been suffering with chest and respiratory problems since the family moved into the council accommodation in March last year, The Herald has been told.
Stacy told this newspaper: “Within six months damp started to creep into the house. It started in the kid’s bedroom, so I swapped rooms with Alfie. I have been constantly been reporting this to the council and months after first contacting them someone finally came out in February this year.
“The inspector told me that getting the damp sorted would be a long process and that I’d be better off putting in for a move. I then questioned if I would be prioritised. The inspector told me that if I provided medical documents regarding Alfie, then I would be. However, after paying £30 for the doctor’s note this did not happen – I was listed as low priority, or ‘bronze’ on the council’s waiting list.
“I feel like I am not getting anywhere – they [the council] are not making my son’s health a priority – nobody should have to live like this”
“One day I had to throw Alfie’s toy box and toys away because everything was covered in mould – I just sat on the bed and cried.”
The family is now waiting for a surveyor to look at the property, to see the cause of the damp, and to see what can be done to repair it.
The problem it would seem is obvious – the damp is coming through where the flat is below ground level. Rain water outside has nowhere to go but to leak into the flat.
The Pembrokeshire Herald contacted the council. A spokesperson for PCC said: “A programme of work to address the problems at the property has been recommended and is due to be completed within the next 14 days.”
The spokesperson added: “We will continue to work with the tenant in order to resolve these issues.”
