Edinburgh mum-of-three fears mouldy council flat is 'making kids ill'

The mum says doctors have warned the council about her children's health deteriorating.

An Edinburgh mum has hit out at the council over failure to fix mould and damp in her flat, which she says is making her kids ill.

Katrina Adamson said her council property which is riddled with mould in the bedrooms is getting worse and is so bad she is forced to sleep in the living room with her three kids, due to the bedrooms.

The 29-year old said the council has failed to carry out any repairs after the property was found unsuitable. Despite months of chasing and letters from her GP and health visitor expressing concerns about the deteriorating health of her kids she said 'nothing has been done'.

Her 18-month-old son was admitted to hospital for a week after developing Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and is on an inhaler. And her three-year-old tot has been off nursery ill for a month.

Ms Adamson moved into the temporary Muirhouse flat last February after her previous home in Pilton was also deemed unsuitable to live in due to significant levels of damp and mould. She said she is now ‘really worried' about the mould, which has caused damage to clothes, toys and forced her throw out her kids beds.

Now she feels she is 'getting nowhere'. "My 3-year-old has missed a whole month of nursery due to being off sick. Both of my youngest have had RSV and keep getting wheezy chest infections. My baby is now on an inhaler every 4 hours. My health visitor sent a letter last week about deterioration of health and my GP has written to the housing team about my kids health. When we were at the hospital a doctor told me it was likely the mould causing it. It's making my kids ill."

After the Evening News reported her plight in January the worried mum said she has been left in the dark over repairs.

Katrina Adamson said she's 'really worried' for the health of her kids in mouldy council flat

"I feel like I am getting nowhere. They offered me a small, unsafe flat about a month ago and said keys were being handed back every week so I'd be able to move soon. But nothing has happened. I am in touch chasing but I've been told there's nothing more they can do. The housing officer told me they couldn't complete repairs while we were in the house. I said I'd move back into my old flat but that's still full of mould as well."

“There are leaks everywhere - in the roof in the living room, bathroom and the hall and dirty water is coming down. I’ve had to throw out baby clothes, toys, a cot, and my children’s beds.  It's a nightmare, water is dripping all down the walls."

Her 11-year-old has a 75 per cent attendance record because he keeps getting coughs, sore heads and feeling sick. Ms Adamson added: "I've been pulled up about his attendance. But if he's sick he can't go. I'm doing all I can but it's a constant struggle, I can't keep living here any more."

Ms Adamson was told that her family would be in the temporary flat in Muirhouse for a three-month period, only to be informed in December that no repairs have taken place in her previous property - 11 months after leaving her home. And now that her decant flat is infested with mould, Katrina is desperate to be moved.

Councillor Jane Meagher, Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, said:

“I’m grateful to our repairs team for addressing a lot of the issues relating to damp in this home but I’m concerned to hear that some of the problems are persisting. It must be a difficult time for the whole household, and we need to make sure we resolve these issues quickly. I’ve asked officers to contact the family as soon as possible to move this forward.”