Mum's rising damp misery

Tracey Boyle, 32, is pleading with Collingwood Housing Association to move her and daughter Alexis, 11, from their flat in Ennerdale Gardens, Breightmet.

She says the two-bedroomed flat is so damp it has made them ill.

Tracey, who is an epileptic, said: "I never feel well any more. I'm on anti-inflammatory pills for back pains which the doctor says has been caused by the damp atmosphere and last year my daughter had pleurisy.

She added: "I've been pleading with the housing association to rehouse us but they just ignore me."

Tracey moved into the flat in 1993. She noticed black spots on the bedroom wall at the time but decorated over them. A few months later the damp was back with a vengeance.

"The whole house is affected by the damp," she says. "There's is mould and mildew everywhere and whatever I do to try and get rid of it fails."

"In some rooms, the damp is so bad that the walls are wet to the touch and the carpets are rotting. And the smell of mould pervades the flat."

Last October, Tracey contacted the environmental health department. She claims they said the damp was caused by chronic acute condensation.

"The association sent some workmen round and they said they'd put it right, but the damp has got worse not better."

Tracey claims other tenants complained about the damp in their flats and were moved.

"I'm at the end of my tether. I just don't know what to do next. All I want is a comfortable and dry home for me and my daughter."

Mike Scarisbrick, regional manager for Collingwood, said: "I don't think it's fair for Tracey to accuse us of abandoning her.

"We did have a property in Whitefield for her but unfortunately the tenant has had to put back her move.

"We have told Tracey that we have some properties in Bolton but they are not ready for handover until the end of the month. She will be rehoused as soon as a property becomes available."

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