A family living in Swindon have been moved into a hotel after being exposed to mould and damp for months. 

Sarah Harris, her partner and her two young daughters, aged nine months old and three years old, moved into a rental home in Penhill managed by Stonewater Housing Association at the start of April.

Since then, says her children have suffered from various respiratory health conditions and they have recently discovered that they have all been exposed to damp and mould from a persistent leak underneath the sink, which suddenly got much worse on Friday, July 12.

Sarah said: “We didn’t know how long the leak was going on for and we got told it was possibly going on for months.

“We’ve not been here that long and my three year old came down with croup twice in three weeks and my youngest came down with it three times around June. It was the damp and mould and we didn’t realise.

“It came from a connection from the washing machine which was loose, then they came out on the 12th to tighten it up. We noticed the floorboards were soaked by the front door, so every time we were stepping over it or the push chair was going over it, there was water coming out. 

“Stonewater told me I had to wait a week for them to come out, but I was calling four to five times a day to push it forward. Later we realised there was a drip from three different places under the sink.

“They did come out but they were going to try and make us wait a whole week.

“Yesterday I noticed we have another leak and now they have finally taken a bit of action, but it took three people to come out to finally get something done.

“We had this problem in our old Stonewater house with damp and mould and they put us in a hotel for eight weeks before being moved to our current property. We’ve been with Stonewater for about two years and they have been rubbish from the get go.”

Sarah said the ordeal was particularly stressful because of her daughters being so young and finding it difficult to keep moving and adapting to a new routine, as well as regularly visiting their GP with croup.

She added: “They’ve just put us in a hotel for now while it’s getting fixed. My three-year-old is a bit confused, but she’s excited at the same time because it’s something different.

“Now we’ll have to try and get her into a routine and it’s just going to be a nightmare. They said it’ll be two weeks in the hotel but if needed they will extend it.”

A Stonewater spokesperson said: “We’re really sorry that Sarah and her family have been experiencing damp and mould as a result of a leak from their washing machine and Sarah’s children have been unwell.

“When the leak was first reported to us, we arranged for our maintenance partner to visit Sarah the same day to fix the broken washing machine. We did arrange for a dehumidifier for the family to use, but we understand there are still problems with the floor being damp, as well as another leak at the sink.

“We’ve spoken to Sarah today and have arranged for her and her family to move to temporary accommodation while we fix the problems. We have a member of our team visiting the home on Monday to determine the next steps and will continue to be in touch directly with Sarah to keep her updated.”