Mum, 28, forced to sleep on dining room floor with son, 1, for 3 MONTHS as mouldy council flat ‘falling down around her’
A MUM and her one-year-old baby boy have been forced to sleep on a dining room floor for three months as their mouldy council flat “falls down around” them.
Gemma Rew, 28, has been left struggling to breathe and suffering from constant headaches after a leak in her one-bedroom flat in Wood Green, north London, was left to fester for months.
Gemma and her son, Mason, have been unable to sleep in their “dangerous” bedroom as parts of the ceiling are crumbling away from the damp due to a leak which started in July.
The data administrator at North Middlesex University Hospital told The Sun Online: “Most of the ceiling has come down. If anybody walks above, parts of the concrete fall off and land on the floor.
“The walls are black mould and soaking wet. It’s just not safe. The flat is falling down around me.
“The housing manager said it wasn’t safe for my baby to sleep in the bedroom. The walls are crumbling down.
“We’ve been sleeping on the floor for three months in the dining room. I just dragged my mattress in there.”
“Mason sleeps with me most of time, but sometimes he sleeps in the cot which I’ve also brought into the dining room.”
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Gemma said she struggles to breathe in the mould-ravaged home – and worries for the health of her young son.
“It’s hell. It’s disgusting, it’s embarrassing. It’s hard to breathe,” she said.
“I’ve always got headaches. Every night I wait up struggling to breathe. It’s awful. This is ridiculous for a baby.
“The council should be ashamed. We just can’t live here anymore.”
Just a week before the ceiling started leaking in July, Mason fell ill with pneumonia.
The desperate mum has blamed the damp for Mason’s battle with the terrifying lung infection.
“My son had pneumonia in July, just a week before the leak started,” Gemma said.
“The flat was already damp and mouldy. I definitely think my son’s pneumonia was caused by the state of the flat.
“He’s been sick twice since then. He has a bacterial infection at the moment.”
I’ve always got headaches. Every night I wait up struggling to breathe. It’s awful. This is ridiculous for a baby.
Gemma Rew
Gemma said she has been begging Haringey Council to move her and Mason into temporary accommodation – but she said her pleas have been left unanswered.
“A surveyor came out last month and checked the property, but I never heard anything back,” she said.
Haringey Councillor John Bevan said the delay in getting the plasterer to complete the repair work was “due to the pandemic”.
He told The Sun Online: “The safety of our residents is always our number one concern.
“When we were made aware of issues of water coming into this property, we immediately attended (out of hours during the night) and carried out the repair to the roof the following day.
“We have made a number of visits to specify the works required within the property and ensure the internal damage is rectified.
“There has been a slight delay in getting the plasterer to complete the work due to a backlog in the area caused by the pandemic, but we have an appointment booked for September 27.
“We hope to have all the works completed to the resident’s satisfaction in the near future.”