A two-year-old boy had a continuous cough and couldn't breathe through his nose in the final weeks of his life at a 'disgusting' flat with damp and mould, an inquest heard.
Awaab Ishak died just over a week after his second birthday. Shocking images of the damp and mould taken days after the tragedy were released during an inquest at Rochdale Coroners' Court today.
His father had battled damp and mould at their home in Ilminster, on the Freehold estate in Rochdale, since autumn 2017 - more than three years before Awaab's death in December 2020 and a year before he was born. The medical cause of his death was linked to the conditions at their social flat, the court heard.
Police spoke to others on the same estate, which is owned and managed by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), earlier this year and found tenants living with damp and mould - as the Manchester Evening News had also done during an investigation this summer. But the evidence would not pass the threshold for criminal charges, coroner Joanne Kearsley was told by police today.
In an emotional day of evidence, the court heard that Awaab's father, Faisal Abdullah, travelled to the UK as an asylum seeker from Sudan in July 2015. He lived in a number of properties before moving to Ilminster in August 2016, before his wife Aisha Amin joined him in February 2018.
Mr Abdullah had already begun to notice 'black dots' of mould in his kitchen from October 2017, the court heard. It was the first time Mr Abdullah had come across damp and mould, and he told the court he did not know what it was.
He took a photo and showed staff at RBH's housing office, who told him: "You would have to paint over it." Asked if he was ever told to buy specialist anti-mould paint, Mr Abdullah said 'no', and told the court he just painted over the affected area until it 'looked OK'.
Awaab was born in Oldham prematurely, at 31 weeks, on December 13, 2018. In a written statement, Ms Amin said her son was on an incubator in the first days of his life, but was allowed to go home once he was feeding normally.
Mr Abdullah told the court the damp and mould had returned by October 2018 and 'covered a bigger area' in his kitchen and bathroom than the year before, but he repainted in the same way he had been told to do so in 2017. He said his kitchen window would remain open and an extractor fan was in use in the bathroom, though there was uncertainty over its effectiveness.
He eventually complained about the damp and mould, and in May 2019 applied for a new home. The court heard Mr Abdullah made a series of calls and was told to keep bidding for properties.
Asked how often he did this, Mr Abdullah said: "Every week, two weeks, I spoke to them about it, 'when am I going to move from this house?'" In early 2020, Mr Abdullah reported a leak from the bathroom into the bedroom, which caused wetness to the walls and carpet.
RBH sent a worker to repair it, and the court heard that the worker told Mr Abdullah to report his damp and mould to the repairs team. Health visitors for Awaab also contacted RBH about the situation, the court heard.
In July 2020, Mr Abdullah came across a Facebook post about damp and mould with a contact number. He called the number and the case was passed on to a solicitor.
Mr Abdullah was sent paperwork to sign, but he believed it was to give consent for RBH to carry out work. Ms Amin became pregnant with her second child later in 2020.
The court heard Mr Abdullah sent a series of emails to different addresses at RBH about damp and mould, as well as the opportunity to move, in that year. One email said: "Kitchen... damp is really bad... I have a kid and my wife, she pregnant. I need further movement please."
Awaab was reported to have a history of blocked nose and coughing on several occasions. Ms Amin said Awaab was prescribed an inhaler for his nose in autumn 2020, and he had been struggling to breathe through his nose.
She described telling health visitors about the damp and mould in November 2020, around the same time Awaab began suffering a continuous cough. Ms Amin described a yellow liquid also leaking into the kitchen, and the effect damp had on her.
"When anyone came to the flat they said it was disgusting and I felt sad about it," she said. "I would rather visit my friends than have people visit the flat."
In a conversation with his GP on December 16, 2020, Mr Abdullah said Awaab had suffered a sore throat for three weeks. He was told to 'seek further review' if Awaab did not improve and on December 19, he was taken to Rochdale Urgent Care Centre with breathing difficulties and what his mum described as a 'rattling noise'.
"Awaab was getting worse than before, he was struggling to breathe," Mr Abdullah said. Awaab was transferred to Royal Oldham on December 20 and treated for croup, but was discharged with 'tablets, an inhaler and spray' to use at home.
Ms Amin said her son's condition did not improve. "We didn't sleep on December 20," she said. "Awaab's chest was worse than before. Awaab managed to sleep for an hour then wake up, he was not well.
He was taken to Rochdale Urgent Care Centre again on December 21, before he was transferred to Royal Oldham Hospital. Ms Amin described the moment she saw her son in hospital following her own appointment for her pregnancy.
"When I got to hospital I saw my son in bed surrounded by doctors," she said. "About 30 minutes after arriving, Awaab died."
Following his death, Greater Manchester Police raised concern about the mould seen in Awaab's family home, and environmental survey was carried out at the property by Rochdale Council on December 23, 2020. Images taken by GMP following Awaab's death show the extent of the mould at the property and were released in court.
In June this year, Detective Constable Chris Davies spoke to residents at Ilminster and saw mould at three other properties, while being told of issues in five others. Following the Manchester Evening News' investigation into damp and mould at the Freehold estate published in August, Det Con Davies returned to the estate in September, and spoke to residents on other blocks who had damp and mould.
However, Detective Chief Inspector Mark McDonell, of GMP, told the court that the evidence gathered would not meet the threshold for criminal charges being made against RBH on the grounds of gross negligence manslaughter or corporate manslaughter. He highlighted how residents had reported RBH workers carrying out repairs at properties, while also having no evidence on the situation of damp and mould at other properties at the time Awaab had died.
Richard Blakeway, housing ombudsman for England, told the court about the findings of a report released last October calling on social landlords to take a more proactive approach to tackling damp and mould - and suggested it could be 'too simplistic' to blame residents for the issue. He said: "Damp and mould is, if you like, a symptom and the causes can be structural or non-structural."
Mr Blakeway added: "The report acknowledges there may be factors like fuel poverty, age and design of homes, which may make the risk of damp and mould greater. Our report was to say that those are known risks and therefore it's important for them to think about their approach to make sure they address those known challenges."
Mr Blakeway suggested there was scope for legislation to be strengthened regarding control of damp and mould, similarly to how it has been on legionella and gas safety. Awaab's inquest is expected to last for nine days.
Proceeding.
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