Published: Friday, 30th July, 2010 9:30am

Eildon embroiled in fungal feud

Poppy's Hawdene home which she fled due to health concerns

A MUM of one has told of her shock at being billed for rent on a property she fled due to health concerns.

Poppy McCourt, and her son, Todd, lived for five years at an Eildon Housing Association owned property at Hawdene in Broughton but they were forced to leave the property on June 1, after swab samples taken from black mould on the walls and ceilings tested positive for a whole range of infection causing fungi.

Both were suffering breathing problems and headaches which they attest to the mould problem.

Poppy first raised her concerns with Eildon eighteen months ago but her pleas fell on deaf ears with one housing manager attempting to blame the mould growth on the position of the beds and even Poppy's breathing in her sleep.

Several other Eildon residents have since come forward complaining of similar illnesses they believe are caused by mould growth in their homes.

Poppy said: "I'm completely horrified and shocked that Eildon are now looking Continued on page 3 Continued from Front for rent covering June and July, when I left the property on June 1 in desperation.

"The damp and mould was so bad that I had no choice but to throw out furniture, electric goods, clothes and many personal belongings.

"I first raised the issue with Eildon's Broughton Housing Officer in January 2009 but was completely fobbed off by him. When I told him two months ago that I was making a formal complaint he then had the cheek to ask me to keep his name out of it. It's been an absolute farce.

"I've been told by the remaining residents of the estate that recently a lady from Eildon went around all the houses checking the mould in each. Since then though nothing has happened, will it take a child's chest infection to develop into pneumonia or worse before Eildon do something?"

This week it emerged that US Public Health officials are investigating the role that mould growth played in the deaths of Hollywood actress, Brittany Murphy and her husband, Simon Monjack.

In both cases, the cause of death was recorded as pneumonia and anaemia, and experts have suggested mould could be to blame by damaging the couple's respiratory systems.

However Eildon Housing Association Chief Executive Nile Istephan refuses to be drawn on the Hawdene matter until a review is carried out.

He said: "At present, we have staff looking into this matter and when we have collected our results we will have a clearer picture of the extent of the problem.

"We are at present putting a plan in place to deal with this issue."

On the issue of compensation for Poppy's lost belongings he added: "We advise all our residents to take out contents insurance so that is a matter for tenants and their insurers."