Eastbourne man hospitalised after living with black mould in council house

Ryan Standen, 33, of Westerham Road, said he does not feel comfortable in his home and has to sleep in the living room due to the damp and mould.

He believes the conditions in his home are responsible for the illnesses which have previously seen him hospitalised and, more recently, have to call an ambulance due to difficulty breathing. He said the issues have also had a ‘massive’ impact financially due to the amount of heating he needs to keep the house warm.

He said: “The conditions have affected me in a lot of ways. I struggle day-to-day to get motivated because of the situation.

"I ended up in hospital due to being so poorly and I’m now having to seek help from my doctor because I’m so emotionally drained from all this.

“I’m still fighting to move as I don’t feel comfortable here any more.”

He first appealed for help three years ago and described the council’s response as ‘absolutely disgusting’ and added he feels the council ‘don’t care about my situation’.

He said: “I said about the mould and damp three years ago but all they did was come round, wipe it off and leave.

"That’s not fixing the problem.”

The council has now apologised and said works to the property have begun as of today (Monday, February 5).

"We are sorry about the problems and faults at this property,” a council spokesperson said.

"We have assured Mr Standen that we will continue to do all we can to resolve them.

"Earlier this month our contractor began the work to fit a bathroom extractor to deal with condensation, but due to space limitations this is taking longer than expected. A new double-glazed unit is required and we expect this all to be completed soon.

“An urgent inspection of doors and windows to identify repairs required is also due to take place, alongside an inspection of the whole property by specialist damp and mould contractors.

“We will keep Mr Standen fully up to date with the progress of all this work.”

Mr Standen said he is still awaiting a response to his complaints and requests for compensation.