A POWYS couple have pleaded for help with making their mould-infested properly inhabitable – with just days to go before their baby is due.

Aaron Hassall and Chloe Lloyd-Perks have been been sleeping on a mattress on their living room floor, saying their bedroom has been left unsafe by the amount of mould that is developing.

They have been asking the housing association Newydd to fix the problems in their Newtown flat over the last six months after Ms Lloyd-Perks found out she was pregnant, however much of the work remains outstanding and the couple are now desperate for help to resolve the issues before their new addition.

Mr Hassall has been living at the property for three years and said the property has always had damp issues but “had always just cleaned it himself”.

However, the situation has gradually got worse, affecting all their possessions kept in the room.

This became urgent after Ms Lloyd-Perks became pregnant – being told by her midwife that she could not sleep in the bedroom as the issues with mould had become so severe.

This has left the couple sleeping on the living room floor despite Ms Lloyd-Perks being heavily pregnant. Her due date is in less than two weeks.

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“All we want is somewhere suitable to live in once the baby is here - whether it be this place and it’s sorted out or we get rehoused,” said Mr Hassall, who said he would enjoy living in the property were it not for the mould issue.

“All we want is a suitable place to bring our baby home to.”

County Times: Some of the mould in the flat.Some of the mould in the flat.

He added: “I suffer from depression and anxiety anyway and it’s made my depression ten times worse.

“Even though we have managed to get everything ready for the baby, we haven’t been able to get excited ourselves because we’ve spent all our time trying to get this problem sorted.

“Chloe is struggling to get up, she’s suffering with even more back pain than she should be. It’s getting the both of us down.

“I’m waking up every morning and I just want to go back to sleep all day because we know it’s not going to be sorted by the time the baby is here, we’re still going to be here on a mattress on the living room floor.”

The couple said that Newydd, who own the property, initially said the mould was “a result of their lifestyle” – claiming they did not heat the property or air it out.

However, a subsequent survey found that a flower bed being installed above the damp coursing of their home had caused the issue.

The flower bed was moved away from the property on January 4, but more work is needed to fully resolve the problems.

Jason Wroe, chief executive of Newydd Housing Association said, “We have worked closely with Powys County Council Environmental Health Team to rectify the concerns that Mr Hassall and Ms Lloyd-Perks have.

“We have completed works to the exterior of their home and will continue to work with them and Powys County Council to ensure that they are satisfied with the condition of their home.”

Powys County Council meanwhile have said that the maintenance of the property is a matter for the housing association.

A spokesperson for Powys County Council said: “We are aware of this matter and have visited the property alongside staff from Newydd.  Following the visit, council officers have suggested some actions and remedial works for Newydd to carry out to the property to minimise damp issue.”