A COUPLE has told how their five kids "sleep in mould" at night after their council house became coated in black damp.

Alan Oxley, 36, and his partner Terri Amy Wighmore, 31, said the youngsters are too embarrassed to have friends over after damp spread up the walls by their bunk beds at home in Cobham, Kent.

Now, Terri fears the youngsters – Lucy, 13, Lexi, 12, nine-year-old Tommy, Millie, eight, and baby Lillie-May – could face health issues if things don't improve.

She said the kids – three of which are hers, one is Alan's and they share baby Lillie – are too embarrassed to have friends come over.

Terri told the Sun: "It's so stressful. The kids don't want to have friends round, it's too embarrassing.

"The bathroom is nearly black now, it's black in their room.

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"Tommy has asthma and Lexi's chest is really playing up. Her psoriasis is getting worse, and Tommy's eczema. I don't know if it's the mould."

The couple told how every window in their property is coated in a layer of mould.

But the worst of the mould is in the kids bedroom – leaving the family scared for their health.

Alan added: "The mould is literally growing up the side of where their bunk beds are.

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"They are potentially laying in mould.

"My son has asthma. It was getting better a couple of years ago but now I feel like it's getting worse.

"I'm very stressed and anxious. I'm suffering from anxiety and I've seen my doctor.

"I've been struggling […] for two years.

It's so stressful. The kids don't want to have friends round, it's too embarrassing.

"We're living in squalor. I'm a hard-working man. I work every day, my partner works.

"We take our kids to school and we pay our rent and bills the same as everyone else. All we want is what everyone else has got.

"It's one of the richest boroughs in the country and we are in squalor."

The dad said housing association PA Housing have approved contractors to come and chemically treat the mould.

But the work hasn't been booked yet due to concerns about how the harsh substances would affect the family's five kids.

The youngsters – who all share one room – would have to live somewhere else while the work is carried out.

"I asked, how are you going to book this in?" he added.

'WE'RE IN SQUALOR

"You're chemically cleaning two rooms, one of which is the bathroom which everyone needs to use on a daily basis. The chemical needs 48 hours to dry in.

"Then you've got to chemically clean the kids bedroom.

"I asked if they're prepared to let children lay in a room that's been chemically cleaned which could potentially make them ill."

Executive Director of Customer Services at PA Housing Ian Watts said: "We’re sorry that Mr Oxley and his family are living in this situation and we’re taking steps to put it right as soon as possible.

“We’ve been in contact with Mr Oxley, discussed how our priority is to repair the roof of his home, and instructed a specialist contractor to begin this work.

“Once the roof is fixed, we will be able to carry out the chemical wash on the walls and fit an extractor fan.

"If we need the residents to move out of their homes for a short period while this work is done, we will provide short-term accommodation and work with Mr Oxley to ensure it is suitable.

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"Mr Oxley and his family are living in a home that is too small for them, and they are on PA Housing’s transfer register.

"Very few larger family homes become available in the borough of Elmbridge, but Mr Oxley is doing the right thing by remaining on the register and expressing an interest in any suitable homes."

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