''If the ceiling collapses, it’s on them': 'Petrified' mum 'in A&E all the time' with nightmare house
28.06.2023 - 19:33
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A ‘petrified’ mum says she’s had to take her two children to A&E and the walk-in centre multiple times and she believes it's down to the shocking condition of her house.
Kia Ratcliffe, from Ashton-under-Lyne, moved into her home in August 2021 and claims she first logged a complaint with her housing association, Jigsaw, ‘the day I moved in’. She’s added that the problems are still not fixed.
In a multitude of reported issues, Kia says that her family are putting up with holes in the roof, the smell of dog urine from a previous tenant, broken floor boards, damp, and a rotten bath panel. Jigsaw says ‘works are already under way’ to remedy the woes.
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“I am in hospital all the time taking my kids to A&E or the walk-in centre,” Kia told the Manchester Evening News. “It’s because they are getting really bad chest infections.
“We had to take my daughter to A&E twice in a weekend, she needed steroids, antibiotics and an inhaler. We left for a week then, but we had to come back. That was just before Christmas. I do not want my children to be seriously ill.”
Kia believes these chest infections are related to the state of her home. She went on to say that, while she cleans the mould whenever she spots it coming through — it hasn’t stopped it rotting the bath.
One source of water comes from the roof, which has several holes in it. That water ingress has also translated into a leak into the living room, on the ground floor.
“With the weather, if it starts to rain the floorboards upstairs soak it up,” Kia explained. “If the ceiling collapses, it’s on them. I’ve reported it for several months.
“One [contractor] said to me to call back when