Pensioner told to paint over black mould in house
Mal Greenley in his damp-filled room on Helredale Road w131109
A pensioner has been told to fix a damp problem in his house with a decorating kit after workmen refused to do it because of “health and safety”.
Malcolm Greenley has been complaining to Yorkshire Coast Homes (YCH) for over five years about black mould at his house on Helredale Road.
But he says workmen won’t rectify the problem on the staircase and in one of the upstairs bedrooms for “health and safety” reasons because they need scaffolding, but Mr Greenley has been told to paint over the mould himself by YCH who has issued him with a voucher to pay for the paint. He told the Gazette: “I am not bothered about the decorating kit, I have done the whole house by myself before and I will do this. All I am asking is for someone to clean it up with the right equipment.
“They want me to clean all that muck off but when me and my mate started stripping the paper off we could not breathe because of the spores and had to leave it as it was.”
Problems first started over ten years ago when Mr Greenley’s wife was terminally ill. She moved into the back bedroom but complained it was “fusty”.
Scarborough Borough Council (SBC) which then managed housing stock before it was transferred to (YCH) put in an air brick which seemed to rectify the problem.
But over five years ago a deluge of rain left water pouring through the ceiling. A repair was made to the flashing around the chimney but the loft insulation was “wringing wet” and Mr Greenley says workmen put new insulation on top of the damaged insulation and since then the ceiling and walls have been getting blacker and blacker.
He added: “Three clerks of work have said it is condensation, one refused to do it because of health and safety and said he needed scaffolding and the others that looked at the bedroom, I have never seen them again.”
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Saturday 18 May 2013
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