4-year-old girl in hospital as mould takes over Derbyshire house after council installs leaking wet room for disabled boy

Amber Therabondos, a mum of four, has been struggling with mould in her house for four years now – since Derbyshire County Council converted her bathroom into an accessible wet room in 2019.

A new shower meant to help her disabled son has been constantly leaking causing mould to take over the house.

Currently, the whole ceiling in the bathroom is covered with mould – and it has also spread into the hallway and bedrooms.

Amber said: “The shower continuously leaks 24/7. The water just doesn’t stop dripping from the pipes. We have a bucket in the shower and it fills within an hour. If we leave for longer and we come back to the house the water from the bathroom leaks to the bedrooms because it is a bungalow. It has damaged walls, the ceiling, and the floor.

“The mould is everywhere – even on our clothes in the wardrobes. The whole house smells damp with things growing everywhere because of it and flies around.”

The issues have affected the health of Amber and her entire family with two of her children suffering from asthma, and one from severe mould allergy.

Amber said: “I had to take my four-year-old daughter to the hospital earlier his month because she was so bad with her asthma. She's been really ill, having allergic reactions, coughing and struggling to breathe. When she was at the hospital she was diagnosed with severe mould allergy and she obviously is breathing all this in in the house and when she's sleeping. She is struggling so much in her own house and she is just four and I can’t do anything.

“I’ve tried to explain to the council how much she struggles but they don’t listen. In fact I’ve been trying to get the council to fix the leak for four years, but they have not been helpful at all. When I first reported it they said they couldn’t do anything because of lockdown. After Covid, they said it was our fault that the shower had been leaking.

"But the damage is not caused by us because there were absolutely no problems with it before they converted the bathroom. The pipes that are leaking are all underneath the bathwork so we can't even access them.

“We’ve been living in really bad conditions for the last four years and it is getting worse and worse and the council are refusing to help. I don’t know what to do.”

When contacted by the Derbyshire Times, a spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said: “We are aware of the problems and have made several repairs to the shower. We are now looking at options to improve ventilation in the family’s bathroom, including fitting a skylight and underfloor heating. It is also planned to remove the bath and change the shower. We have also offered the family advice on using the extractor fans which were fitted to try to prevent condensation. We have advised the family that we hope to start work within a few weeks but will keep them fully informed as we have done throughout.”