Each morning, Mia starts her day by carefully wiping down her walls and windowsills for mould. While her young children sleep, she does everything she can to reduce the black spots that blot the ceilings and skirting boards of her north Manchester home.
She was placed in the privately-rented property by Manchester City Council after fleeing domestic violence with her sons - aged one and three - earlier this year.
But now, she is facing a whole new battle. The 19-year-old, who is studying at college, says the mould has has crept onto her children's clothes and mattresses - and as a result, they keep getting sick.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, she said she is 'terrified' for their safety and doesn't know where to turn. Manchester City Council say they have served an improvement notice on the landlord, ordering them 'to carry out work to resolve the issue as soon as possible'. READ MORE: The quiet Greater Manchester village rocked by a second asylum seeker hotel READ MORE: 'British Gas told me to pay more than £4,000 - I'm in a wheelchair and couldn't get to my meter for readings' "They're getting poorly and poorlier," Mia, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, said. "Sometimes I'm literally scared to go into the bedroom in the morning - it's just like, what if the worst has happened overnight?" She said her children are 'constantly exhausted' and one has even been rushed to hospital with breathing difficulties, adding that all three of them have been prescribed inhalers.
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