Tameside mother's disgust as mushrooms sprout in mouldy rented home

A woman whose mouldy privately-rented home has begun sprouting mushrooms has said she is worried about her children's health.

Stacie Blackwell has lived at the house on Hampson Road in Ashton-Under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, with her sons for more than eight years.

She said fungi was growing from mould patches on the ceiling and she claimed her landlord had not helped.

Property owner Jigsaw Homes said it was working with her to resolve the mould.

Ms Blackwell said she had mould and damp "all through the house" and efforts to get help from the landlord had been a "complete waste of time".

She said she had been told by the letting firm that, despite the mushrooms having appeared, she would have to wait until April for an inspection.

But Jigsaw Homes said that was a "misunderstanding" and it wanted to book in the work now with no further inspection needed.

Ms Blackwell told BBC North West Tonight: "It's embarrassing. I don't want people coming to my house.

"I feel like my house smells of damp and it is going to make us poorly.

"My boys can't even sleep in their room."

She said she had been scared by the appearance of the mushrooms.

Her eldest child is sitting GCSEs later this year but has had to go sleep elsewhere.

"That hurts me," she said.

A Jigsaw Homes statement said: "We are aware of the issues Miss Blackwell has with her home and we have been working with her to try and resolve these.

"The health and safety of our residents and their families is our absolute priority and we are committed to addressing any concerns promptly."

It added: "We apologise for any misunderstanding, but we can assure Miss Blackwell that she does not have to wait a further four weeks for this work to be booked in.

"We are continuing to try and contact Miss Blackwell so we can complete this."

The Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has promised to introduce the right for private sector tenants to request home safety checks from councils if he is re-elected in May.

His commitment comes following the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak in 2020, who had been exposed to mould in his family's Rochdale flat.

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