A MUM-OF-FIVE is pleading with local landlords to throw open their doors after claiming her rented home is so poor it is affecting the health of her children.

Tracy Bailey, 30, said her family is ‘living in hell’ in their home in Ainslie Street, Barrow, after claims her landlord refused to correctly fix the mould problem in the house.

Mrs Bailey and her children, three who have complex needs, moved into the property in August 2018 with her newborn baby who was just a day old.

She said she was ‘physically sick’ due to the overpowering smell of dog faeces.

“When we first moved in, the place was an absolute tip,” she said. “There were urine stains on the mattresses and dog poo on the floorboards.

“The whole place was just disgusting.”

Mrs Bailey, who works as a full-time carer to her three disabled children, said she had ‘no choice’ but to move to the house as it accepted benefits for rent payment.

She said: “We ended up spending £2,500 doing up the house because it was in such a state when we first moved in. After a few months, damp and mould began coming through the walls which we really really worried about as my three-year old has Chronic Lung Disease.”

Mrs Bailey said her daughter Ava was hospitalised nine times in seven months for respiratory issues while her one-year-old son AJ was hospitalised five times for breathing-related problems. Her seven-year-old son was also recently hospitalised due to an asthma attack.

Mrs Bailey said: “I feel like I’m failing my children because I can’t provide them with a safe environment. I’ve had to be put on anti-depressants because the situation is making my mental health so bad. It’s affecting my whole family’s mental health. My 10-year-old has anxiety because she can see her siblings struggling.”

Mrs Bailey said the family has contacted more than a dozen houses in Barrow but they have all refused due to the parents not being working tenants.

“We need a four-bedroom house, which aren’t available on the council,” she said. “Ava has an oxygen tank and wheelchair which means she has to have her own room.

“Currently, the corridor isn’t even big enough for her wheelchair to fit through so we have to carry her in and out. The whole situation is an absolute nightmare for us all.

"I’ve cried in front of estate agents before begging them to give us a home. We just feel exhausted at this point."

Mrs Bailey said the landlord and Environmental Health have been informed about the ongoing damp issue but it has not been resolved.

She said: “All the landlord has done is put a fake ceiling in and painted over the mould. Environmental Health has been out three times and told the landlord the house needs a new roof but he is refusing to do it.

“The plasterboard is just making the mould worse because moisture is growing in between it.”

Councillor Tony Callister, Barrow Borough Council spokesman for licensing and public protection, said: “Our Private Housing team carries out inspections of privately rented properties under national guidelines set out within the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.

“We will take enforcement action if the guidelines suggest this as an appropriate course of action.

“In this case, we have compiled a report and written to the landlord of the property in a bid to resolve the issue satisfactorily.”

The Baileys’ landlord was approached by The Mail but refused to comment.