London housing: Mother fears for son's health in mould-ridden flat in Leyton

A mother to a five-year-old boy with breathing difficulties has said she fears for her son's health due to the mould in her housing association flat.

Lenoar Lane said their flat in the Leyton Grange Estate in Leyton, east London, has had mould in the kitchen, bathroom and main bedroom since 2015.

She said she believed it was making her son's asthma worse.

London & Quadrant (L&Q), which owns and manages the flat, said it met the legally required decent homes standard.

But Ms Lane, who also has asthma, said she felt stressed and "really low" about the situation.

"I feel like there's nothing I can do, every time he gets sick I am more anxious.

"It's been making me ill since 2017 - I don't think that he would have developed asthma and this condition if there wasn't mould.

"It's just depressing living here, seeing the mould look like that and seeing my son suffering.

"When he goes to see his nan in Birmingham they said he's fine."

L&Q's executive director of property services, David Lewis, said since 2017, its contractors had visited their flat three times to carry out repairs, including "clean and shields" of the mouldy areas.

He added the housing association would continue to support the family "in any way we can".

Since initially speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Ms Lane said contractors from L&Q had returned to the property to remove some mould-damaged furniture and to clean the walls.

However, she fears the mould will return and her son's condition "is going to keep on deteriorating" as there are still issues with damp in the flat.

Ms Lane, who shares the flat with her three children and mother, said her son also has a condition known as immune thrombocytopenia, which causes him to bruise more because he has less blood platelets than usual.

She added she has felt even more scared since hearing about the death of Awaab Ishak from a respiratory condition caused by "extensive" mould in his home.

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