Norwich City Council has apologised to a city man after it claimed severe mould and damp in his flat were caused by his "lifestyle".

Following the incident the council was ordered to pay compensation to Andy Sharpe, 59, who lives in a two-bedroom flat in Sleaford Green, off Aylsham Road.

Mr Sharpe took his concerns to the Housing Ombudsman Service last year after a council inspector claimed the mess was caused by his "lifestyle", which he denied.

But now the council has apologised to Mr Sharpe, accepting the ombudsman's ruling, which saw it ordered to pay fines totalling £900.

Norwich Evening News:

A spokesperson for Norwich City Council said: “We completely accept the ombudsman’s findings and will be in direct contact with Mr Sharpe to offer him a full and personal apology.

"We will also arrange to pay the £900 compensation immediately as set out in the ombudsman’s report and agree dates for the remaining work to be completed to Mr Sharpe’s home.

“Over the last year we have been reviewing our damp and mould processes and procedures and are already making a number of significant improvements.

“This includes better training for staff when visiting properties following reports of damp or mould issues and doing a ‘mould-wash’ in all properties, as standard, when first reported by a resident.”

The council carried out repairs to the roof and guttering this summer but the ruling on Wednesday, November 30, ordered that the council paid £600 "for the failures identified in relation to its response to reports of damp and mould".

It added the council needed to pay an additional £300 "for its communication with the resident about the damp and mould".

The ombudsman said the additional fine was "specifically" for "its inference of this being the result of the resident’s lifestyle with no evidence to support this".

It is thought the ruling could spark a "step change" in how local authorities tackle the issue.

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