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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Harri Evans & Katie L Wilson

Pregnant mum ‘can't stop crying' over council house living conditions 'nightmare'

A pregnant mum says the horrible living conditions of her council home in Caernarfon are affecting the health and well being of her young family.

Chloe Pritchard, 21, says pieces of wall fall off during the day, water seeps in through several windows whenever it rains, there are cracks everywhere, and her three-year-old son is staying at his grandmother's because it is affecting his health.

The young mother also described how there is damp in the house and holes in the wall, which are covered up by wallpaper, NorthWalesLive reports.

Chloe moved into the two bedroom house in Caernarfon, Wales with her two young children last November.

Chloe says water seeps in through several windows whenever it rains (Chloe Pritchard)

The 21-year-old was happy to find a bigger home for her growing family and was eager to move into the house as soon as possible.

She says that the house initially appeared to be an improvement on her previous home, but within days of moving in, she says she realised that a lot of work was required to make it a safe environment for herself and her children.

Chloe says pieces of wall can randomly fall off during the day (Chloe Pritchard)

Three months after moving in, she claims that no progress has been made by the social housing provider Adra in remedying the problems, as she keeps on discovering more issues with the house.

Chloe said: "Living in this environment is horrible, especially with two children and another one on the way. I can't stop crying, I can't eat or sleep here - it's no way to live."

She said that heat can escape from the house easily, which leaves her having to keep the heating switched on throughout large parts of the day.

Chloe has complained about the "cracks everywhere" to housing provider Adra (Chloe Pritchard)

These issues are affecting the physical and mental health of her young children, she said.

"My young son lives mostly with my mum because he can't stand being in the house. There's dust everywhere form the crumbling plaster which affects him badly because of his bronchitis.

"We have damp, some of the plaster is wet to the touch and parts of the walls crumble off at random parts of the day. The sockets are also exposed and there's holes in the walls which are obviously dangerous for young children.

"There's dust everywhere form the crumbling plaster," Chloe said (Chloe Pritchard)
Chloe says the conditions of the house affect her three-year-old son's asthma (Chloe Pritchard)

"The children are stressed out living here. My baby girl who's just turned one won't settle and my three-year-old boy absolutely hates coming here. He's always got a cold and his asthma plays up because of how cold, damp and dusty it is here.

"He's missing school because of it as well. He sees me stressed and he's at that age now where that affects him and that just builds up," said Chloe.

Chloe's baby is due in July and she feels that she is "getting nowhere" despite being in constant contact with Adra.

Chloe has complained to Adra about the damp in the property (Chloe Pritchard)
Chloe is worried that if she takes her eye of her daughter for one second, she could get injured in the property (Chloe Pritchard)

As things stand, Chloe says, they are all staying in the same room as the others are "not safe" for her children.

"I can't let my baby girl crawl around because the floor is so rough and if I was to take my eye off of her for a second she could be sticking a finger into loose plaster or a hole in a wall.

"We're all staying in one room at the moment because I can't have my kids in any of the other rooms given the way they are at the moment - it's just not safe.

Adra said in a statement that the required work on Chloe's house will be completed by the end of February (Chloe Pritchard)
Chloe said that living in this environment is "no way to live" (Chloe Pritchard)

"I'm constantly told by people that these are not living conditions but when I bring the issue up with Adra - something I've done many times - it's like they're not interested.

"We've had inspectors over who acknowledge that work needs to be done on the house but they say we just have to keep on living here and wait months on end for it to be done," Chloe said.

Chloe said she feels as if she has exhausted all of her options. She says that she needs Adra to act urgently and that her current situation is not tenable for the long term.

Chloe says it's been a 'nightmare' (Chloe Pritchard)

Dealing with her pregnancy and all it entails on top of living in this environment, she says, is a "nightmare", and she has considered handing back the keys on several occasions.

The only thing that is stopping her from doing so, she says, is her responsibility to her children.

"I've come close on so many occasions to handing my keys back to Adra and just sleep on people's sofas but obviously with the children involved I can't do that.

"I don't feel like I have any options at the moment."

Chloe said the exposed sockets are a danger to her young children (Chloe Pritchard)

A spokesperson for Adra said: "Providing good customer service and making sure our customers feel safe and comfortable in their home is a priority for us.

"Our customer moved into this house in November as part of a mutual exchange. In January we were notified about the issues involving some of the plastering in the property. To date we have carried out an inspection at the customer's home and have identified the work required which will be completed by the end of February. We will make sure the work is completed to a high standard."

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