Mum fears mouldy home has put son in hospital three times with breathing issues
A mum has said her flat is so mouldy it has forced her child into hospital three times in the past year.
Nikki Lazarou admitted she is left avoiding her own home and makes her family sleep in the living room because of black mould which has appeared at her London home.
The mum-of-three believes she needs to take the drastic action as a matter of life and death after her youngest child is left "struggling to breath" after spending to long at home.
She told MyLondon: “As a mum all you want to do is protect your kids, but I don’t feel I can in this house, they just keep getting sick.
“It’s so bad in the kids' room I won’t allow them to sleep there, my [older] son has asthma and every time he is in there he’s coughing his lungs out.”
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She explained her toddler was rushed from the GP to the hospital with bronchitis where he was given oral steroids.
The youngster got it for a second time, as well as being struck down with croup cough, and was taken straight to hospital by his mum.
Nikki tries to avoid spending too much time at home as possible (Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon)Nikki, who is pregnant, has now been left fearing for her own health, and has had her GP write to Haringey Council asking for an urgent review into her living situation.
She added: “All of these issues the council are not helping. It's like what are they waiting for? Are they waiting for my children to die?”
Nikki swapped council homes with her mother in 2017, she has had a problem with black mould she belives has come from a rusty and exposed pipe which runs through the building.
In an attempt to stop the problem, some neighbours in the building, leave their windows open all day, even in blistering cold weather.
The mum-of-two thinks the situation isn't only affecting her children's physical health, but their mental health as well.
Nikki says her youngest child has been to hospital three times because the mould (Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon)She claims a lack of sleep due to the conditions is affecting her boys who suffer have regular meltdowns - something she fears could cause a serious problem as she lives on the third floor.
She added: “One has autism, ADHD and it gets so severe because they need their own sensory space where they can be able to be themselves.
“Recently because we've had to sleep in the same room and stuff. [My son with autism] had a big meltdown, he’s saying ‘I’m fed up with staying here and being on the floor.’
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"I tried to tell him ‘calm down, I’m trying my best,’ but he’s got mad and he’s tried to jump down the stairs.”
“I’ve sent all this information to my housing manager, but nothing's been done.
Nikki is convinced the mould in her flat is seriously harming her toddler (Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon)"Mentally and physically I shouldn't be here with my children, it's not safe for them to be here."
Responding to Nikki's case councillor Dana Carlin said: “I am appalled at the conditions this family are living in and would like to offer my sincere apologies to Ms Lazarou and her family.
“We have inspected the property and have arranged suitable temporary accommodation for the family to move into whilst we undertake the repair to their home.
“As a council we have put in place significant procedures to deal with damp and mould and have a robust action plan moving forward to identify cases in our homes and deal with them quickly and effectively.
“Our priority is for our residents to live in safe and well-maintained homes, and we are fully committed to a zero-tolerance approach to damp and mould.
"We have streamlined our reporting process to ensure all reported damp and mould is correctly signposted to the relevant service and residents can email us directly at [email protected]"
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