Dumbarton family’s Christmas 'ruined' over nightmare mould which they say hospitalised them

Mum Gemma Ewing has hit out at West Dunbartonshire Council (WDC) over black mould which she says is rife in her Overburn Crescent home and is putting the family’s health at risk.

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A Dumbarton family’s Christmas was “ruined” over nightmare mould and poor heating which they say caused them to be hospitalised.

Mum Gemma Ewing has hit out at West Dunbartonshire Council (WDC) over black mould which she says is rife in her Overburn Crescent home and is putting the family’s health at risk.

Gemma, who also lives with partner Thomas Burrows , says she and three of her four children, aged six and her twins at 16 months, have been admitted to hospital over breathing difficulties which she says is due to their cold, damp home. Her four-year-old didn’t need to be admitted.

Her furious mum and the children’s grandmother, Yvonne Clark, is demanding WDC take responsibility, telling the Lennox: “Both my grandson and the twins have been in hospital with bronchiolitis.

“My grandson had to be taken to hospital because he woke up screaming. He was cold to touch.

“The hand of my 16-month-old granddaughter is blue because there isn’t an effective heating system in my daughter’s house to allow her to keep her four children warm enough, which in turn, is creating an environment that is allowing the black mould to spread, and the illnesses that go along with this.

“This week alone my daughter and three out of my four grandchildren have been put on antibiotics as they cannot shift their illness. And my 16-month-old grandson has been put on an inhaler and had to attend the sick children’s hospital due to his temperature dropping to 34.4.

“Her six-year-old son, on the autistic spectrum, is refusing to sleep in his own bed because of how cold it is.

“This should have been sorted before, it has ruined my grandchildren’s Christmas.”

It comes weeks after West Dunbartonshire councillors unanimously backed a call for extra safeguards to be put in place over mould following the tragic death of two year old Awaab Ishak in Rochdale.

The toddler died two years ago, on December 21, 2020, following prolonged exposure to mould at his home which wasn’t acted on by authorities.

The family moved into the house in August 2021 and Yvonne said it had been a “nightmare” from the start, claiming that mouldy walls were covered up with wallpaper.

In an email to the council, Gemma stated: “It is evident that the council did not clean the existing black mould prior to covering it up with wallpaper.

“This is a complaint because this issue was evident before being given this tenancy, and the council chose not to deal with the issue effectively.

“I was notified of this tenancy months before I was actually given the house, so there was, more than ample time to address this correctly.

“I am not willing to allow substandard housing to affect the health of myself, my partner and our children, and I expect to hear from you with the agreement for all of the above to be carried out timeously.

“The works order states the finished wall will be painted/papered, with no mention of plastered. You are NOT papering over it. You’ve already tried to cover it up once.

“You are a disgrace.”

Yvonne added: “My sister and I went by it months before she moved in. They hadn’t secured the house yet and I walked in and videoed it, the whole house was an absolute mess. It was covered with mould. All they did was cover it up with disgusting wallpaper. They threw the house together to cover it up.

“On the day she was to move in, she was half moved in, and she had to move back to her old place because the person who was to sort her metre out hadn’t done it, which was all used up from the previous tenant. This was with weeks-old babies and a son who is on the autistic spectrum.

“There has been a repair put through on one wall, and the remaining ones don’t seem to be getting done. I believe it is rising damp.”

The family say they need to turn the central heating on for six hours to reach a temperature of 19 degrees, which is costing them a fortune.

Yvonne added: “We have put through complaints before on the heating system. WDC got a survey done by City Technical Services, who advised that the house required double panel radiators in every room because it is a concrete build, flat roof with no insulation.

“The council disregarded this survey even though they asked for it and put in one double panel radiator in the living room, with single glazing radiators in the rest of the rooms.”

Gemma says she has experienced numerous other problems since moving in, including her bathroom flooring having to be replaced, due to a faulty bath, and her rent not being sorted correctly, resulting in her becoming hundreds of pounds in arrears.

A WDC spokesperson said: “We are sorry this tenant is unhappy with the service.

“While this issue was not noted by the tenant on her entry to the property, as soon as we were made aware, it was treated as a priority.

“We have been unable to resolve this as quickly as we would have liked, and there have been cancelled appointments from the tenant, but we are liaising closely with her, and all necessary repairs, including replacement of radiators, installation of an additional radiator, and dampness treatments, have been scheduled for early next year.

“We will continue to provide support and assistance until this matter is fully resolved.”