A MOTHER, who lives in Winchester, has spoken of her anger after mould has caused her to throw away many of her children's clothes and toys.

Chantel Pardon, of The Conservatory, opposite Chesil Street multi-storey car park, said that the problems were caused by recent window replacements at the block of flats.

Ms Pardon, 31, has lived at The Conservatory for three years with her partner, Billy Tanner, and her two children who are three-years-old and three-months-old.

She explained that the housing association, A2Dominion, sent a surveyor to the property in March to inspect the mould problem. However, residents were told that it would not be cleared until June.

The mould, in the ground-floor flat, has meant that Ms Pardon has had to dispose of clothes, bedding and books which have been affected by issue and is a further expense.

Ms Pardon said: “The smell is like that of a damp tent, it's been very difficult for my children. We were told to keep our windows open, but that's not possible all the time when you have a three-month-old baby.”

After informing Winchester City Council's housing department of the problem, she was told by an officer that it was her problem and to sort it herself.

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More recently, Ms Pardon reported that there were water leaks coming from her ceiling and plug sockets. She said she informed A2Dominion of the urgent problem at 8.30am on April 21 and that the plumber did not arrive at the flat until 8.30pm. The family were housed in a hotel while the problem was sorted.

Ms Pardon said: “I just want them to sort the problem, we shouldn't have to wait so long for them to do this.”

Dawn Wightman, director of housing services at A2Dominion, said: “We’re aware of the issues Ms Pardon has raised and appreciate this must be very frustrating for her. We’re sorry that it’s taken longer than usual to complete the repairs.

“Our initial response to the action required was made in a timely manner, but we regret that the follow up work has taken longer than we would have hoped.

“Our repairs team returned to Ms Pardon’s home again on Tuesday April 26 to carry out a full investigation so we can carry out the remaining repairs as soon as possible.

“We will also look into what improvements we can make for the future.”

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