Awaab Ishak: Dad complained about mould before boy's death, court told

A father whose son died after developing breathing problems had complained to a housing association about mould in his family's flat, an inquest has been told.

Awaab Ishak died shortly after his second birthday in December 2020.

Rochdale Coroners' Court heard Faisal Abdullah called Rochdale Boroughwide Housing many times about the flat.

Det Insp Mark McDowall told the court it was his "understanding" mould was a factor in the boy's death.

The inquest heard Awaab, who was born prematurely, had a history of coughs and a blocked nose that had worsened about three weeks before his death on 21 December 2020.

He was taken to the Rochdale Urgent Care Centre and then seen at the Royal Oldham Hospital on 19 December, but was discharged the following morning.

Awaab's mother Aisha Amin left the courtroom in tears as Mr Abdullah described how a day later, his son "was struggling to breathe" and they took him back to the urgent care centre.

Awaab was then rushed back to the Royal Oldham Hospital but died a short time later.

Mr Abdullah said he sent several emails with photos showing the mould to the housing association in the months before his son's death.

Under questioning, he agreed that though the organisation had not fixed the issue, it had swiftly carried out other repairs, including a leak in the bedroom.

Mr McDowall said he had seen a report about Awaab's death and it was "my understanding was that one of the causes of death was the mould".

Fellow Greater Manchester Police officer PC Chris Davis said he had visited a number of flats on the estate where the family lived and had seen mould and damp in several of them.

Richard Blakeway, the Housing Ombudsman for England, told the court the law needed to be reinforced to compel landlords to address damp and mould problems as the issue was not given the same legal standing as gas safety and legionella.

Mr Blakeway said in general terms, there were some social landlords who took an approach which was "outdated, ineffective, sometimes dismissive, with an overemphasis on blaming lifestyle and placing responsibility on the resident".

He asked senior coroner Joanne Kearsley to consider including a request for the law to be strengthened in her final report.

The inquest continues.

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