Mother having panic attacks over fears mould-ridden flat is killing her children

A mother claims she has been living in a mould-ridden council flat for years, and says she has started having panic attacks about her two sons after the death of a toddler.

Racquel Bryan, 38, claims she’s been complaining to Lambeth Council since moving into her flat in 2006.

But, although staff have been out, she says problems still persist and the three-bed home is unsafe.

The mother-of-five says she now fears for two of her two boys who have asthma after the death of Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old Manchester boy who died as a result of a severe respiratory condition.

Awaab died in December 2020, eight days after his second birthday, as a direct result of black mould in the Rochdale flat he lived in.

Racquel, who is single and living on benefits, says she has started having panic attacks recently over the health of Daeshamar, eight, and Daeshamai, five.

She said: “It’s my biggest fear that one of my children will die from this mould.

“I’ve started having panic attacks after that poor little boy was in the news.

“My youngest is constantly getting ill with coughs and colds and when he gets a temperature he suffers from seizures.

“The mould is really bad, it’s black and smelly and it stinks all through our home. I’m constantly cleaning and wiping and painting over it.

“When we first moved in the council advised me to keep the windows open and use a dehumidifier.

“It’s always freezing, we have to have the windows open all the time. I need them to move me but they are just not listening.”

Racquel says the flat was damp, had no internal doors or flooring and the walls were bare when she moved in with daughters Shaday and Daeshanel, both 18.

She claims she complained but was told she had to accept the property and go on the transfer list, which she did.

But this means she’s had to keep the windows open, she claims, to keep the damp out.

This forces the family to sit in cold conditions in winter, huddling together in warm tracksuits, jumpers and dressing gowns.

The mother says her GP has written to Lambeth Council about the living conditions for both Daeshamai and Daeshamar, who each take two inhalers daily and routinely visit an asthma clinic.

But, despite several visits, the mould is still there.

She said: “I’ve kept contacting them over the years. Sometimes they come out but they don’t finish the job.

“They sometimes come and repaint the walls but the mould just keeps coming back. It’s a constant battle - I just got used to it.

“It ruins our belongings. I’ve put away pictures of the kids and important papers and documents and then I go back and they’re all stuck together and there’s nothing I can do to salvage them.

“So many memories have been destroyed. It’s so tiring.”

Lambeth Council has been contacted for comment.