Southampton mouldy flat affecting girl with asthma, GP tells council

In a letter to Southampton City Council, Dr Pauline Grant of Cheviot Road Surgery said mould in Layla Cowley's council home "may be making her asthma worse".

She said Layla has been taken to hospital "quite a few times" as a result of her condition which she described as "quite severe".

Layla's mum Carley Burke, 26, has been cleaning the mould but says she has called on the council to "properly fix it" multiple times to no avail.

"I feel like I am being palmed off, they’re just ignoring me," she said.

"My daughter is on tablets for her asthma and the doctors have said that if she has another asthma attack then I’ll have to call an ambulance."

Carley's partner Adam Scriven, 32, and their two young children, Ralph and Quinton, aged one and three, also live in the flat.

The council says it is "working closely" with the family. 

READ MORE: Pensioner taken to hospital five times due to mouldy flat - and now could be homeless

Carley Burke, 26, Adam Scriven, 32, and their two young children, Quinton, three (left) and Ralph, one (right) and Layla Cowley, six (middle) (Image: Newsquest)

Issues with mould at the Brendon Green property started in April when black spores sprang up in Layla's bedroom and in the kitchen.

Despite this being reported to the council, a worker visited the house in June but only measured the kitchen which is due to be refurbished.

Later in the summer, another worker came round to confirm an appointment to treat the mould had been booked for November 1.

However, when they turned up, Layla was told they were only there to measure the kitchen again.

Earlier this month, Layla had an asthma attack which caused her mum to almost call an ambulance. 

The mould in Carley Burke's flat (Image: Provided)

Now, six months after the issue was first reported, the family’s GP has stepped in asking the council to act.

In a letter to the council's housing department seen by the Daily Echo, Dr Grant said: “Layla has quite severe asthma and has been admitted to hospital with it a few times.

“The family are suffering with mould in the house which may be making her asthma worse. Also, her two brothers are living here, born in 2020 and 2022.

“Please can you look into this and see if it can be controlled?”

Dr Pauline Grant's letter to Southampton City Council's housing department (Image: Submitted)

Carley says she is worried for her daughter’s welfare.

She said: “This has affected her school life, as it's not good for her to be breathing this in when she already suffers from asthma."

She added: “Layla had an asthma attack two weeks ago and that is when I started to ring the council to get them to sort it out.

“I rang them at the start of the month and I got told that someone was going to ring me back but they never got back to me.

“My daughter is now sleeping in the living room because of the mould."

A spokesperson for Southampton City Council said: "We have visited this property several times to conduct surveys and carry out repairs, and there is a further visit scheduled to assess the work completed to date and make a plan for addressing any further issues.

"We are working closely with the tenant, who we will keep informed about the next steps.”