Norwich council house mould and damp leave tenants stressed

And some of those forced to live in squalor for years even say they have struggled with depression due to their frustration.

Shannon Fox is a single mum living with her six-year-old daughter, Laveah, in the Clover Hill area of Bowthorpe who has been begging the council for help.

Shannon says that her daughter can't sleep in her own room because of the amount of mould there (Image: Shannon Fox)

The 29-year-old said: "Living in such a state for the last four years has taken a huge toll on my mental health.

"I've been to the doctors because my depression is getting worse and I've had suicidal thoughts because of this mould.

"My daughter can't have friends round and I can't invite people over because the house is in such a horrific state - it's embarrassing.

Shannon Fox, 29 and her six-year-old daughter Laveah, who live in the Clover Hill area (Image: Shannon Fox)

"It's like my life has been put on hold."

READ MORE: Norwich family's seven-year house hell plagued by mould

Shannon has found slugs and silverfish invading her home while having to put most of her belongings in bin bags to protect what's not been taken over by mould.

She added: "I can't let my daughter in her own room and she has to stay with me - I'm crying myself to sleep at night.

Shannon said that the mould has built up so much that she's felt suicidal and depressed because of it (Image: Shannon Fox)

"The flooring is coming up because of the damp and the pots and pans are covered in mould.

"There's nowhere else I can go. I feel like I may as well sleep in the street because it's just awful here - it's not right.

"No matter how much I try to get things sorted it doesn't seem like I get anywhere and I don't understand how the council can let people live in such a bad way."

Shannon has been pleading with the council for around four years about sorting out the mould in her house (Image: Shannon Fox)

The Evening News has contacted Norwich City Council for comment, which rents out more than 14,500 homes, but did not receive a response.

Last month, the authority put up Leela Grieveson in a hotel and apologised as repairs to her Heartsease home were completed after a protracted battle.

That was one of a succession of examples brought to the attention of this newspaper in recent months after the high-profile inquest into the death of toddler Awaab Ishak in Greater Manchester made national headlines.

Caused by excess moisture, the NHS states that damp and mould can cause respiratory problems and affect the immune system, particularly of these susceptible to such issues.

Another to contact us recently is Omar Alameen, due to the state of his house in Darrell Place, off Dereham Road in Earlham.

The former Amazon employee said: "There's been an issue here for about three years now and the council don't seem to care about my health at all.

Shannon has found slugs and silverfish in her house, brought about the amount of damp in the house (Image: Shannon Fox)

"I stopped working about a year ago because my health had become so bad due to the house, which has had an impact on my mental health as well.

"At one point I thought about taking my own life because things got so bad.

"My overall mood is very low because of the conditions I live in and not having a job has meant I struggle to feed myself regularly.

"I just want to be moved to a different location."

Omar Alameen, 29, lives in Darrell Place and has had been living in a mould infested house for around three years (Image: Omar Alameen)

READ MORE: Norwich City Council paying £800 mould compo to landlord

Omar claims the damp and mould spreading through his home means he has difficulty breathing and struggles to sleep at night.

The issue is so bad for the 29-year-old that he was looking into housing shelters, adding: "I'm looking at anything to help me get out of this situation.

Omar said that at one point he thought about taking his own life because of how bad the mould issue was (Image: Omar Alameen)

"I've contacted the council so many times to try and get it fixed but nothing has been done.

"The environment I'm in right now is awful and if I could be moved somewhere else it would mean the world to my mental health and hopefully get me back to living a normal life."

Omar left his job around a year ago because of how his mental health was affected living in a house with so much damp and mould (Image: Omar Alameen)