A 27-year-old who has had pleurisy twice fears she will fall seriously ill again due to a mould problem which has been going on for eight years.

Katy Forster's council flat in Temple Hill, Dartford, has become "smothered" in mould and she has asked to be moved into safer housing.

She said: "I have had continuous problems. The front room is so bad, it is furry. It is absolutely smothered. That is not normal.

"It is definitely this flat. I have a doctor's note saying this flat is making me ill. I am going to get ill, I just feel it is a matter of time."

Katy rents her one-bedroom home through Dartford Borough Council which has tried to fix the situation, coming out at least once a year since the problems started to plaster over and mould wash the infected areas.

A Dartford council spokesman said: "We are aware of the issue, and did arrange for an inspection on January 5, but Ms Forster was unavailable and has rearranged access for January 19.

"On that basis, we cannot comment until we gain access to the property."

Katy has been placed in band D for bidding for another home but has been sofa surfing this winter as she says she struggled to breathe at night.

Since moving into the flat when she was 18, Katy has been ill with pleurisy twice and claims the woman who lived there before her had pneumonia.

Katy's doctor wrote a letter to Dartford council's housing department in February 2020, requesting she be moved due to her health.

They said: "This lady suffers from asthma which has been more symptomatic since living in her current flat which has a well-known and significant problem with black mould.

"This has apparently been treated on more than five occasions with limited success. This lady has been hospitalised with pleurisy and continues to suffer each winter from chest infections.

"Due to our concerns for her health we would be grateful if she could be moved into accommodation without a mould problem."

The council advised her to ventilate the flat, according to Katy, which she says she has been doing by keeping windows open when she is at home.

She added: "There is nothing else I can do. I cannot even decorate my house. The main concern is my health. It is crippling me.

"It is not a nice place to live in, coming home and all my stuff is covered in mould.

"I did not want to have to do this but I cannot live like this any more — it is upsetting and scary."

Katy, who works part-time as a waitress in Bluewater, has said she has contacted everyone she can think of in the hope of being moved into better accommodation.

She added: "I would love to come home to a house without mould. I am tired of it. I just want a nice place to live in. It is so simple to do.

"I do not want to leave the area or anything fancy — I really just want four walls I can truly call home and not be scared to stay in."

The trainee massage therapist, who hopes to open her own business, said the problems started six months after moving in and have only got worse with mould climbing up her kitchen walls and soaking her mattress which she has replaced six times since living there.

She added: "It has gone past the material things of making my home look nice, I am genuinely scared this place is going to kill me.

"I go to work to pay for a flat that is making me ill. They have ignored years of complaints, doctor's notes and even the MP has tried to help my situation. I am so far down the list my only hope would be to get a swap but, of course, no one is going to want to live here."