HARROWING footage shows a four-year-old boy struggling to breathe in his mould-filled home with his mum "terrified he'll die".
Demi Rock, 30, watches over little Kyden every night, with her son riddled with sores because of their "mouldy and damp flat".
His asthma is made worse by the conditions of the flat in Milton Keynes, she claims, and his tiny body is also covered in painful eczema which she says doctors believe is caused by his poor living conditions.
Blood tests confirmed that his allergy to the black mould is causing allergic reactions including itching skin, swollen eyes and becoming irritable, disrupting Kyden's sleep.
Despite Demi pleading with the council to rehome her from her Grand Union housing association flat, she's so far had no luck.
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She said: "I'm at my wits' end and don't know what to do.
"I am terrified he will die. There's already been a young child that's died through living in damp and mouldy conditions. What if my son is next?"
Two-year-old Awaab Ishak was killed in 2020 by mould which riddled his social housing flat, causing respiratory failure.
After the inquest into Awaab's death last November, Housing Secretary Michael Gove said the tragedy should never have happened and underlined the need to ensure every landlord provides decent accommodation for tenants.
Despite this, Demi has battled the mould problem in her two-bed flat which she shares with her nine-year-old daughter and Kyden since 2019.
Demi has lost count of the number of times Kyden, who also has Autism and is non-verbal, has been admitted to hospital struggling to breathe.
Demi, a stay-at-home mum, said: "He is living in an allergy. I'm having to take him to hospital about once a month because he struggles to breathe.
"You wouldn't give someone with a peanut allergy a peanut butter sandwich so how is it acceptable to leave him in this house?"
The single mum, who is disabled herself, has complained to Grand Union repeatedly: "But when they come out to inspect they say there's no mould.
"That's because I've spent hours constantly scrubbing it away. I can't risk Kyden breathing it in."
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She has a 12-litre dehumidifier which she says fills up hourly, and places three moisture remover pots in each room which can last up to six weeks, but she says fill up in nine days.
'HORRIBLE AND DAMP'
Demi also uses bleach and black mould remover on the walls, has her extractor fan on constantly and ventilates the property daily.
She said: "Our mattresses are soaked, my furniture gets covered in mould. I wash the children's clothes and put them away, all clean and tumble-dried.
"Then when I get them out to dress them they are horrible and damp."
Due to the mould in the 11-year-old building she has had to replace the children's beds four times in four years, her own bed twice, two sofas had and three different dining tables .
She described being exhausted with worry for her son and the pain caused by her chronic pain condition fibromyalgia, which she says is made worse by having to scrub her house clean from mould multiple times a week.
Despite the financial strain of cleaning the house, replacing furniture, running the heating and the £300 electric dehumidifier, she's most concerned for her son.
She said: "I don't know when the next asthma attack is going to happen or how severe it will be. They have failed my son completely by leaving him here.
"If he dies that's my baby. You can replace plaster boards and radiators- you cannot replace my son."
"If he dies that's my baby. You can replace plaster boards and radiators, you cannot replace my son."
Demi Rock, 30
According to Grand Union a ventilation system has since been installed in the property, but Demi said this isn't the case.
Grand Union issued a lengthy statement, which read: "We changed our approach to dealing with damp and mould over a year ago.
"This follows the excellent 'spotlight' report written by the Housing Ombudsman Service, including setting up a dedicated team to respond to reports.
"Our technical team has visited Mrs Rock each time she has reported a reoccurrence of damp in her home and we have installed additional ventilation and provided guidance on how to manage moisture."
A council spokesman said: "The council is willing to step in and help housing association tenants in situations like these, but they should first raise their complaint through the Housing Ombudsman.
"After this, we can take necessary action if the issue is still not addressed. We're working on the request for council housing separately, and will allocate a suitable property as soon as it becomes available."
Demi is now pursuing a compensation claim for her damaged belongings and expenses incurred by the mouldy property.
She is also considering launching private court action against the council for failing her family under their Disability Act obligations.
Grand Union added: "At our most recent inspection in January, we found some additional damp resulting from a leak from one of her toilets; this has been fixed but will need to dry out.
"We appreciate that living in a two-bed flat with two children, and some really complex medical needs, is difficult and absolutely understand her wish to move home.
"We want to be open and transparent about the decisions that we make and particularly the condition of her home and so are currently working with her solicitor to arrange for an independent survey of her home to take place.
"We will act on the findings of this and will continue to do everything that we can do to ensure she has a safe, secure and well-maintained home and support her to get the move she so desperately wants."
