A mum from Sutton is losing sleep over the mould in her flat as she lives with her seven-year-old son with a rare condition called Barth Syndrome.

Veera Pavlova, a former inspection controller, has been living in Oakley House since September, and claims that the lift has broken five times and that here is damp and mould situated inside her flat.

As her son suffers with Barth Syndrome – a rare condition which affects the heart, muscles and can cause recurrent infections due to small numbers of white blood cells – he needs more regular care.

Veera cleans her flat three or four times a week due to her son’s immunity issues, yet she claims the mould is still growing “inside and outside.”

Veera told the News Shopper: “I had to leave my previous property because I didn’t have enough money to feed my child, so I was put in emergency accommodation.

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“When I moved into Oakley House, I noticed the windows in the room full of mould – the double glazing was not sealed, and you could see the water dripping down the glass and the mould is growing inside and outside.

“I clean the windows as much as possible because of my son’s immunity issues.”

Mears Housing Accommodation told the News Shopper that it takes all damp and mould issues “extremely seriously”, and it plans to work with Sutton Council to “look into this case further”.

According to Veera, her son, who uses a wheelchair, is the only person in Sutton to suffer with Barth Syndrome, and she claims he has been on antibiotics for his chest conditions since moving into their current flat.

Despite being told that the issue revolves around condensation, Veera says it is “difficult” to believe this is the reason, as her previous job was working as an inspection controller.

She added: “So, my question is, if I call the lab and ask them to do the swabs off the window, will the mould grow?

“I can appreciate that they are doing everything they can, but I am fighting for my son’s life.

“I am nearly to the point of giving up – I don’t sleep, and it makes me difficult to function as I can see my son’s health is deteriorating.”

Mears Housing Accommodation says it have visited the property four times since Veera first moved in, but there was no damp or mould during those visits.

A spokesperson for Mears said: "We take all damp and mould issues extremely seriously which is why we will be working with LB Sutton to look into this case further.

“We have conducted 4 visits since the resident moved in in September, as have the Council's service provider and we did not find any damp and mould during those visits.

“However, there are clear concerns from the resident, and we will continue to investigate this until we are satisfied that there is no damp and mould present."