A MOTHER and her three young children have been left no choice but to move into one room of their Andover home to try and avoid the mould that has taken over their flat.
Nikita Sams, 24, has been faced with long-term issues of damp and mould, and now after six months of doing all she can, the single-mum has reached breaking point.
Due to mould spreading to underneath her mattress, she has been left with no choice but to sleep in the same bedroom alongside her children, who are four, three and one.
Since moving into their home in Fleece Close, Nikita's two eldest children, Hope and Layla, have started using inhalers to help with breathing difficulties and her youngest daughter, Nevaeh, has struggled with a continuous chest infection.
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Nikita believes the worsening health of her children is down to the mould in her home that keeps "growing thicker and faster".
The mother no matter how often she tries to clean it and keep her home ventilated, nothing works.
Nikita said: "This is my last resort to get someone to take this issue seriously as it is now affecting the health of me and my daughters, but no one will acknowledge that.
"Sovereign has visited a couple of times since I moved in to clean the mould, but nothing has permanently helped.
"I’ve had to throw away so many items due to this, including a sofa. I feel like I'm living in a real-life nightmare. It is really hard being a full-time mum to my children in these terrible conditions."
The family have now moved into one room, which they say has the least amount of mould.
Simon Carter, assistant director for localities at Sovereign, explained that it carried out a mould wash to the affected areas around the windows on February 10.
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He said: "There is now little evidence of mould throughout Nikita’s home. We are visiting our customer next week to take humidity and damp readings to help us tackle a slight build-up of condensation. We have agreed to install a trickle vent in the lounge to provide further ventilation. This will be fitted at the start of April.
“So far, we have seen no evidence of damp or mould on a mattress at Nikita’s home and there has been no offer to replace it. However, we have already agreed with Nikita that if we do find mould on the mattress on our next visit, we’ll support her to claim on our public liability insurance.”
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