A disabled woman who says she has been living in damp, leaky flat for seven years purchased 28 dehumidifiers in an attempt to stop the spread of black mould.
Ruth Massey-Taylor, 46, said the severe damp in her Higher Bebington home left her furniture "waterlogged", and caused her to have to throw away 75 bags of ruined, foul-smelling clothes. However, social housing provider The Regenda Group said the property was inspected in August last year and found "no evidence as to any structural problems causing damp or mould."
Ruth said: "I'm sitting in a living room chewed up by mice. I've got mice actually nesting under my floor, carpets full of mould and waterlogged. I'm running dehumidifiers like you wouldn't believe it. I sat there last night crying because I just don't know what to do."
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Ruth, who suffers from fibromyalgia and uses a wheelchair to get around, said she reported the problems to The Regenda Group, "a thousand times" over the years. The company said the property is currently being monitored by contractors, however, there was "no current evidence of vermin" to be found.
But Ruth said: "The mice came in about two years ago. People come each week to put down bait, but the whole property is basically falling apart. I had them in the kitchen at first. Now they're in the cupboards and the living room. They've chewed through the carpet and tunnelled through the asbestos tiles underneath and are nesting there.
"It's just one thing after another and it just gets worse and worse.
"They've been destroying the carpets and making me so anxious. They've basically evicted me from my own living room. I can't even bring myself to go into the kitchen."
Mum of two Ruth said she moved into the house in Higher Bebington nearly eight years ago after spending time in a women's hostel following an abusive relationship. She has set up 18 dehumidifiers in her bedroom and nine in her living room, including two electric ones, in an attempt to improve her conditions.
She said: "I'm a disabled woman. I walk with a stick mostly, but I do use a wheelchair. I shouldn't be forced to live like this. The week before last I had to pay £100 to hire a van so I could take a couch, that was waterlogged and mouldy and I'd only bought just before lockdown, to the tip.
"I've thrown out 75 bags worth of clothing because it was all ruined, and that made me cry.
"It's just getting ridiculous. It's costing me a fortune. It has been seven years, hundreds of pounds. It's shocking how bad it is. I feel like nobody believes that this is going on.
"I was homeless before I came here, living in a domestic violence hostel. All I wanted was a roof over my head. I lost all my stuff when I was made homeless, when I fled from all that. I feel like I'm being let down."
A spokesman for The Regenda Group said: "On hearing the customer’s concerns about damp and mould, we inspected the property in August 2022 using specialist surveyors. The survey concluded that there was no evidence as to any structural problems causing damp or mould.
"We have advised our customer, to use the extractor fans within the property and we will also unblock the ventilation bricks which have been covered up, this will allow the property to be suitably ventilated to avoid condensation. An appointment for this has been booked in for 24th April.
"We have also inspected the property and found no current evidence of vermin; however, our contractor is reviewing the property every two weeks to monitor any evidence of infestation and have undertaken proofing work to conceal possible entry points. We will continue to work with our customer through an assigned tenant liaison officer to ensure she is satisfied with the outcome."
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