A mum says she is frightened for her children's health after living with bad mould for the best part of a decade.

Murston nan, Vicky Norman, claims it is so bad she her grandson has to go to hospital numerous times because it and her daughter, who has asthma, can no longer sleep in her own room.

The 42-year-old says the problem is in the bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom of the Harkness Court property, which is owned by the housing association Optivo.

Sharing the house with her daughters Abby, 19, Brooke, 13, Cecily 5, and her grandson, Leland, she said: "The mould is making my children ill.

"There's plenty of it and repairs are not being done.

"I've ended up in hospital with my grandson, who has been diagnosed with croup, multiple times because of the mould.

"It's just crazy, nothing's getting done."

Vicky's concerns about her family's living conditions have worsened following the recent reports of the death of a young boy who suffered prolonged exposure to mould.

It was recently confirmed that Awaab Ishak, 2, died in December 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by the fungus in their one-bedroom housing association flat in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

Vicky said: "It frightens me, it really does frighten me with regards to the children's health, it's not good.

"My grandson has been going to hospital, five, six, sometimes seven times a year with breathing problems including croup, a condition that affects the windpipe, airways and voice box.

"One of my daughters has asthma, and she can't sleep in her bedroom because of the mould.

"The last time she spent one night in here she was ill for a week. It really makes her asthma play up, she can't breathe properly.

"Then it affects her doing anything and everything that she wants to do, because all she can do is lay on the sofa."

The full-time carer was originally moved to the property for six months of temporary accommodation - that was eight years ago.

She said: "We've been living with the mould ever since.

"Optivo owns the the property and they're not doing anything.

"I've spoken to them and others, including Murston councillor, James Hall, have spoken to them, and still nothing has been done.

"Personally, I'd like to move from the property because this isn't really fit for the kids to live in at all. But I can't see that happening."

Every day Vicky wipes down the mould, uses bleach and douses her walls in specialist mould spray.

She said: "It makes no difference. It comes back all the time, no matter how much I wipe it down or redecorate."

There are also mice at the property.

Vicky said: "I've paid about £210 for pest control myself, but because the rest of the block has rodents they keep coming back.

"I just want something done. I just want it sorted so it's safe for the kids to live in.

"Luckily, my physical health hasn't been affected, but mentally it weighs you down after a while.

"There's only so much you can do when no one else is doing anything at all."

The house's conditions meant Vicky's eldest daughter, Daniella, 23, had to move out of the property with her four-day-old newborn baby.

Vicky said: "She cannot have that baby here with the mould. It's just not worth taking the risk.

"The only person that has offered to help me is councillor James Hall.

"He is the only person that has been out to help. He's got in touch with Optivo as well but yet nothing's been done."

A spokesman for Optivo said: "Our residents’ needs are extremely important to us, and we always want to ensure the homes we provide are suitable for the families who live in them.

"We’ve been working closely with Ms Norman to resolve the issues of mould in her home.

"We’ve arranged for an expert maintenance surveyor to independently assess her home.

"We’ll take urgent action to follow their recommendations on how to tackle the mould.

"After being made aware of the issue of mice, we supported Ms Noman by providing information on how to correctly dispose of waste to prevent pests and have arranged for a pest control specialist to attend her home on Monday, November 21.

"We’ll continue to monitor the situation to ensure these issues are resolved.

"We understand this is a distressing situation for Ms Norman and our staff are committed to doing all they can to help."