I’ve been deserted in a mould-ridden hell gap for EIGHT YEARS

A mother of four has been living in a mould riddled council flat for eight years, causing significant health implications to her family. 

Glory Uhunarabona from Bermondsey, has been unable to cope with the damp and the mould which she blames for her children’s breathing issues, coughing and nose bleeds. 

The 45-year-old is now taking on Southwark council, who provided her with the flat, for failing to address the issue properly since 2015. 

‘I’ve been depressed and crying for my children and how this has affected them. I sometimes think that my son could have done better in his GCSEs…,’ she told the Evening Standard.

Glory Uhunarabona from Bermondsey, has been unable to cope with the damp and the mould which she blames for her children’s breathing issues, coughing and nose bleeds

The 45-year-old is now taking on Southwark council, who provided her with the flat, for failing to address the mould properly since 2015

The council have apologised and claimed there must be a wider issue with the property

She continued: ‘What we are going through, nobody else would have through this. 

‘Maybe it’s because of my English or because I’m a single mother. I just feel we’ve been abandoned.’

The council have apologised and claimed there must be a wider issue with the property.  

Ms Uhunarabona, who works as a dinner lady in a Southwark school said three of her children, aged eight, 13 and 14 have been suffering from nosebleeds regularly.

This situation has become so severe for the family that doctors have felt the need to step in and write letters to the council reitierating that the flat is causing problems for the single mother.

Highlighting in particular the impact on Ms Uhunarabona’s eight-year-old asthmatic daughter who had to be hospitalised at one point and the fact that her children have been forced to miss school. 

She said, leaving her to feel ‘abandoned’ and forcing them to move around while council attempt to deal with the mould. 

They were moved into temporary accommodation twice while the problem was supposed to have been sorted, but ‘the damp won’t go away’, she said. 

Ms Uhunarabona, who works as a dinner lady in a Southwark school said three of her children, aged eight, 13 and 14 have been suffering from nosebleeds regularly

Highlighting in particular the impact on Ms Uhunarabona’s eight-year-old asthmatic daughter who had to be hospitalised at one point and the fact that her children have been forced to miss school

She said, leaving her to feel ‘abandoned’ and forcing them to move around while council attempt to deal with the mould

They were moved into temporary accommodation twice while the problem was supposed to have been sorted, but ‘the damp won’t go away’, she said

In 2020, they were housed in Bromley and in 2022 they moved to Wandsworth temporarily.

The family has been unable to escape the mould each time they have returned to the flat in Bermondsey.

‘We would think the issue was solved but it was not,’ Ms Uhunarabona said. 

A Southwark council spokesperson said: ‘These are unacceptable conditions for anyone to live in, and we apologise to Ms Uhunarabona and her family for how distressing it must have been for the mould to return for a second time when she went back to her property.

‘There is clearly a specific issue with this property which our repairs teams will need to address to permanently resolve the mould and condensation. We will also look into all the matters Ms Uhunarabona has raised and speak to her about both her family’s housing situation and what has happened.’