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Woman Forced To Self-Isolate In Damp House With Mushrooms In Bathroom

Woman Forced To Self-Isolate In Damp House With Mushrooms In Bathroom

Stephanie Clark spent 12 weeks shielding in the horrendously damp house, despite asking for the problem to be sorted for a decade

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

A woman has been forced to self-isolate throughout the coronavirus pandemic in a house that is so damp that mushrooms - actual mushrooms - have started growing in her bathroom.

Fifty-two-year-old Stephanie Clark claims that she first raised the issue with her landlord more than 10 years ago, but nothing has been done and the damp is now completely out of control.

To make matters worse, the former supermarket employee was one of the people who was told to shield for 12 weeks straight inside her house during the coronavirus lockdown.

She told Mirror Money: "I've been telling Hyde Housing [previously Metropolitan Housing] about the severe mould and damp in my house for more than a decade and nothing has been done,"

Mirrorpix

Stephanie says she's tried to get her landlord to address the problem, even taking him to court when rules were introduced to strengthen the rights of tenants.

She received £5,000 in compensation in May last year, but the work that is so badly needed still hasn't been performed.

It's not just the bathroom, either.

The damp is a problem throughout the whole house. However, it's in the bathroom that the fungus has started sprouting.

By the time the work was offered, the pandemic had taken hold. Stephanie, who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as well as having battled thyroid cancer, was told to shield as she was - and remains - at greater risk from the virus.

PA

She continued: "I've been offered the opportunity to move out of my home and into a small flat while repairs are carried out.

"However, I feel incredibly anxious about going into another property given the current situation as I was told I should be shielding during lockdown."

Neal Ackral, the chief property officer at the Hyde Group, said: "The safety of our staff and customers is our priority and we continue to follow Government guidelines around only carrying out emergency work for customers who are self-isolating.

"Ms Clark's home was reported to us in November 2018 and while the works do not present an immediate health and safety risk, we are committed to doing everything required as soon as possible."

Mirrorpix

"For her own safety, we have asked her to temporarily move to alternative accommodation to enable us to carry out the works and have provided several suitable alternatives which have all been declined.

"As soon as Ms Clark is no longer self-isolating and moves to temporary accommodation, we will start the work immediately."

Featured Image Credit: Mirrorpix

Topics: UK News