A baby living in an 'unbearably cold and damp' flat now has breathing difficulties but council chiefs are 'ignoring' cries for help, a mum has claimed.
Demi Martindale claims living conditions in the freezing flat are impacting her mental health and her four-month-old infant is suffering from breathing difficulties.
Water pours into her home every time it rains and it is covered with damp and mould, she added.
But the mum claims her pleas to Lambeth Council have gone ignored.
MyLondon reports the flat is also infested by mice and the block is plagued by antisocial behaviour.
Demi also says drug users have tried to kick in doors and even once set fire to the block.
But when Demi complained to the authority, she claims she was told; "if you're scared for your life call 999".
Since the age of 16, Demi said she has been moved from temporary accommodation to temporary accommodation by Lambeth Council and has been unable to settle anywhere.
She said: "I've never really had a home, I'm just moved from pillar to post constantly."
Moving into her latest flat on the top floor of her building in April 2021, brought some hope.
But just over a year ago her bedroom ceiling started leaking, spreading across and down the wall.
When she complained the council eventually went onto the roof to address the leak and claimed the problem was sorted, but the leaking continued.
Demi said: "When I was pregnant I was trying to decorate and make the room at least look a little bit decent for him but the paint couldn’t even stick to the wall it was so damp."
Since then a second leak has also sprung in the living room just the month before her son Mamoudou was born in July.
Demi said: "It's a constant drip that gets much worse the heavier the rain is. Even now I have a bucket there to catch the water.
"My son is 16 weeks old now and that has just got worse and worse since he was born.
"It started off a little patch but now it's grown all the way across to the balcony door and into the corner, and there's black mould growing on it.
"All of this damp just makes the flat unbearably cold, the roof and the walls are constantly wet so it’s freezing. I hate to think what it’s going to be like over the rest of the winter."
When the leak started in July, Demi made a call for emergency repairs at Lambeth Council, but says she was told it was not an emergency.
The decision was reversed and although it now 'constituted an emergency', there was nothing the council could do until a specialist worker until it was safe to work on.
Four months later Demi is still waiting, with water pouring in every single time it rains.
She said: "They're worried about health and safety but there's no consideration for the wellbeing of me and my son living in this house that’s damp and mouldy and leaking. We just have to put up with it.
"I've tried Lambeth repairs, the estate manager doesn’t replied to my emails, I wrote to the local MP and got nothing back, there’s just no help."
As a result of the awful living conditions, Mamoudou has become ill and a doctor has explicitly linked his breathing difficulties to the damp he's surrounded by.
Demi explained: "He’s had congestion since he was a month old and his chest is constantly rattling. we’ve been to the doctors a few times, they said there isn’t much they can do and just told me to keep trying with the council to sort out the damp.
"It’s so stressful, my baby is sick, I don’t even have time to think about how I feel living in a freezing cold house."
The situation is severely affecting her mental health after an arduous pregnancy and care by perinatal mental health team because of anxiety and depression.
"I’m currently in therapy every week with my psychiatrist trying to ease my anxiety about life in general and being a mum, but I’m constantly worrying if my son is okay because of the conditions we’re living in.
"I’m just so drained, and I feel so guilty that I’ve brought a child into this situation, it’s just not fair on him.
"The whole estate has been left for people here to rot. So many people are suffering and it’s not right."
A spokesman for Lambeth Council said: "We have been working to fix a number of problems identified at this home for some time, and to ensure that the issues reported to us are attended to.
"We have already successfully repaired a leak in one roof at the property, but a second leak on another roof has proved more difficult to fix and has taken longer than we would like. We apologise for any inconvenience Ms Martindale and her family have experienced in the meantime.
“Roofers have been sent to work on the roof of the building, and they are ensuring this stubborn leak is fixed, with a complete new roof covering to the property.
"We are also surveying the property in preparation for additional work to tackle the mould – including, where required, new fans, internal insulation, anti mould paint, plus any other works connected with the prevention of condensation."
