"My mould-ridden home has made my baby so ill she can't even live with me anymore"
- 4 days ago
A desperate mum is pleading to be moved out of her mould-ridden council home - which has made her children so ill her baby can't even live with her anymore.
Katie Roberts, 26, says she is being forced to live in 'disgusting' conditions alongside her partner, three children and her sister in Wednesbury, West Mids.
She even has letters from doctors saying the mould is a 'significant risk' to the young children's health - but claims Sandwell Council are doing nothing to help.
The situation has become so unbearable for the family that Katie's three-month-old daughter Willow now has to live with her grandmother.
The tot was prescribed inhalers having developed a wheeze and a cough while her two other children - Hunter, three, and Scarlett, two - also have health conditions as a result of the mould.
Katie said: "I'm separated from my baby, and we can't form the attachment between a baby and mother that is so important to them in their early life.
"This mould has made her that ill that she's at the doctors pretty much every week.
"The letters from the doctors even say that she needs to be moved to a safe environment.
"There are just too many people and too much furniture in the house that the air can't circulate and it's causing mould.
"In the summer, we can open the windows, but when it gets to winter, that isn't an option."
When Katie was pregnant with Willow, a letter from her GP addressed to the council read: "The mould issue is a significant risk factor to the health of her unborn child.
"It would be in Katie's and her unborn child's best interest for her to be relocated as soon as possible to a bigger property with four bedrooms and a garden."
Katie, who lives with partner Ashley, 27, has accused the council of 'not taking them seriously'' despite begging to be relocated to more suitable housing.
She said another reason for needing a bigger house is because Hunter has suspected autism often having meltdowns, and requires his own space.
Katie, who cannot work due to suffering from PTSD, social anxiety disorder, autism and paranoid schizophrenia, added: "The doctors are really concerned about my children.
"My boy has asthma now too and is also on inhalers. He has to have his own room, he cannot share anything, he has meltdowns.
"He needs his own calm space."
Because of her history of complex mental health issues, Katie is also worried about the growing impact her living situation is having on her own wellbeing.
Both her and Ashley are considered disabled because of their poor mental health and cannot work.
She said: "I've had to be put on even more medication because of the stress of living like this.
"I'm scared of what will happen if I keep getting pushed and pushed. I will end up in hospital again and I can't, I have three kids.
"We need to be moved, it needs to be done.
"There is no space, the lack of air circulation is affecting my children's physical health and my mental health because I can see that my children are ill.
"It is so small and cramped, I'm up early hours in the morning just cleaning.
"It's so overcrowded it's not right.
"It's the waiting time that's the worst thing. I don't know how many letters it will take.
"They need to treat this like the emergency that it is."
Sandwell Council said teams have been to clean the house and will be speaking to the family about the issue.
They added demand for council properties in the borough is greater than supply, leading to long wait times and discussions on other ways to find suitable accommodation.
Katie Roberts, 26, says she is being forced to live in 'disgusting' conditions alongside her partner, three children and her sister in Wednesbury, West Mids.
She even has letters from doctors saying the mould is a 'significant risk' to the young children's health - but claims Sandwell Council are doing nothing to help.
The situation has become so unbearable for the family that Katie's three-month-old daughter Willow now has to live with her grandmother.
The tot was prescribed inhalers having developed a wheeze and a cough while her two other children - Hunter, three, and Scarlett, two - also have health conditions as a result of the mould.
Katie said: "I'm separated from my baby, and we can't form the attachment between a baby and mother that is so important to them in their early life.
"This mould has made her that ill that she's at the doctors pretty much every week.
"The letters from the doctors even say that she needs to be moved to a safe environment.
"There are just too many people and too much furniture in the house that the air can't circulate and it's causing mould.
"In the summer, we can open the windows, but when it gets to winter, that isn't an option."
When Katie was pregnant with Willow, a letter from her GP addressed to the council read: "The mould issue is a significant risk factor to the health of her unborn child.
"It would be in Katie's and her unborn child's best interest for her to be relocated as soon as possible to a bigger property with four bedrooms and a garden."
Katie, who lives with partner Ashley, 27, has accused the council of 'not taking them seriously'' despite begging to be relocated to more suitable housing.
She said another reason for needing a bigger house is because Hunter has suspected autism often having meltdowns, and requires his own space.
Katie, who cannot work due to suffering from PTSD, social anxiety disorder, autism and paranoid schizophrenia, added: "The doctors are really concerned about my children.
"My boy has asthma now too and is also on inhalers. He has to have his own room, he cannot share anything, he has meltdowns.
"He needs his own calm space."
Because of her history of complex mental health issues, Katie is also worried about the growing impact her living situation is having on her own wellbeing.
Both her and Ashley are considered disabled because of their poor mental health and cannot work.
She said: "I've had to be put on even more medication because of the stress of living like this.
"I'm scared of what will happen if I keep getting pushed and pushed. I will end up in hospital again and I can't, I have three kids.
"We need to be moved, it needs to be done.
"There is no space, the lack of air circulation is affecting my children's physical health and my mental health because I can see that my children are ill.
"It is so small and cramped, I'm up early hours in the morning just cleaning.
"It's so overcrowded it's not right.
"It's the waiting time that's the worst thing. I don't know how many letters it will take.
"They need to treat this like the emergency that it is."
Sandwell Council said teams have been to clean the house and will be speaking to the family about the issue.
They added demand for council properties in the borough is greater than supply, leading to long wait times and discussions on other ways to find suitable accommodation.