Shepherd's Bush Flat 'Like Something from a Horror Film'
Mum and autistic son forced to live in mouse infested flat with leaking toilet
Picture: Colleen Anglim
A young Mum and her autistic son are being forced to live in a mouse-infested flat with a leaking toilet that she describes as “like something from a horror film”.
Colleen Anglim, 23, said the flat in Shepherd’s Bush is unbearable for her little boy, Charlie, age five.
They were placed in the property in February 2018 by Notting Hill Genesis housing association, where she also found filthy wooden floorboards with nails sticking up.
“It’s like something from a horror film,” said Ms Anglim. “Charlie has to wee in the bath because the toilet just leaks all over the floor. He’s scared to use it. I would be too if I was his age.
“Someone came to fix it last Sunday [November 17], but all they did was turn it off. Then someone came again two days later, just to turn it on and still didn’t fix it.”
She claims the leaks are so severe that downstairs neighbours have had toilet water leak into their home.
“It leaks into flats A and B. One time it even damaged all the electrics in their flats,” she said.
Ms Anglim also accuses Notting Hill of placing her in the property, despite knowing of the dire problems.
“They knew there would be mice in here when they moved me in. My other neighbours said the building had been infested for years, and they let me accept this place without telling me. The mice got into the beds and the sofa.”
The leaking toilet in the flat
She has since bought two cats and a chihuahua to keep the mice at bay.
Ms Anglim also provided the Local Democracy Reporting Service with a photo of her son’s injured foot, which she claims was caused by a nail sticking up from the floorboards.
“There’s nails and splinters sticking out the floor,” she said. “And they are impossible to clean. I try scrubbing it and it makes splinters come up even more.”
She added: “I broke down in tears earlier. The flat is making me feel depressed, I’ve been prescribed antidepressants.
“People ask me ‘why did you accept the flat?’
“At the time my Dad was dying of cancer. I was in so much of a hole. It all happened so quickly and I didn’t want him to be worrying about me.”
Other photos she provided show walls that are smattered with mould.
“There’s no excuse for why my son and I have to live here. I’m at my wits’ end,” Ms Anglim said.
Notting Hill, now say they will fix the problems, having been contacted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service,
A spokesperson for the housing association said: “We are aware of the issues the resident has faced and we apologise for the length of time she and her family have had to wait. We have spoken to her today when she raised the issue of the blocked toilet, and we immediately requested a repair and are awaiting an appointment date.
“Our housing operations manager will visit the family next week with a surveyor to carry out a full property MOT and identify any other works that are outstanding. Once we get these repairs done and flooring has been refitted, our pest controllers will be better able to tackle that problem.”
Owen Sheppard - Local Democracy Reporter
November 25, 2019