Kelly Piggott says Bexley Council left her in mouldy flat

Kelly Piggott, 38, says she and her six children were "dumped" 20 miles from their family, in a flat riddled with damp, mould, mice and insects.

She claims the council told her that if she didn’t accept it, she would be deemed voluntarily homeless and it would never offer her another property.

The council did not deny that allegation and refused to answer any of the News Shopper’s questions.

Kelly had lived in Erith or Belvedere her whole life until she became homeless when her relationship ended and Bexley moved her out of the borough.

Kelly Piggott said she grew so distressed at seeing the misery her children were living in that she attempted to take her own life, then sought psychiatric help (Image: Charles Thomson)

After years in temporary accommodations, the family was offered a “permanent” home in a private rental flat in Rochester - although the £1,200 per month flat has only been leased on a fixed term agreement for 12 months.

After viewing it in February, Kelly said she told Bexley that significant repairs were needed.

“They promised they would get them done,” she claimed – but when the family arrived, the property was still in shambles.

“As soon as I went there and they hadn’t done anything, I knew I was trapped," she said. "I got so depressed it was unreal. I wouldn’t even put dogs in there. It’s just disgusting.”

The entrance hall, stairwell and bathrooms are so damp and mouldy that the wallpaper has fallen off and the house smells terrible, she told the News Shopper.

Photographs show damp and mould on walls inside the flat, where Kelly says wallpaper literally falls off the walls and Bexley Council accepts that damp is causing plaster to fall down (Image: Kelly Piggott)

“We left all the windows open for a whole week and it still stunk,” she alleged, adding that the damp is so bad that, “at night, you can hear water dripping onto the floor.”

Her son Harry, 13 at the time of the move, has asthma. Since moving in, she said, she’s had to take him to hospital repeatedly.

“The council knew he had asthma,” Kelly said.

But in an email last month, Bexley said it was “satisfied the property met the required standards” and “is habitable for yourself and your children”.

“They think this is habitable for a child with severe asthma,” sighed Kelly’s sister-in-law Michelle, showing our reporter photos of the damp, mouldy walls. “It’s just disgusting.”

We asked Bexley why it housed an asthmatic child in a damp, mouldy flat. It refused to answer.

Kelly says there are holes throughout the Rochester flat, through which mice enter the property. She has repeatedly found dead mice in the home Bexley Council says is 'habitable' for her children (Image: Kelly Piggott)

The flat has a mouse problem and Kelly suspects there is also a wasp nest somewhere within the walls.

Once, she claimed, she counted 300 dead wasps dotted around. In the summer, “We were getting attacked every time we went to the toilet.”

Neither the front door nor the back gate can be locked, she said. Bexley has even acknowledged the latter, which it accepts has turned Kelly's garden into a fly-tipping hotspot.

The electric shower trips out all the power if anyone tries to use it, and the leaky boiler has just been condemned, Kelly alleged.

But despite living in these conditions since February, Bexley emailed her on August 28 saying: “We are satisfied the agents are working swiftly and appropriately to repair issues raised.”

Kelly suspects there is a wasp nest somewhere in the property. She said she constantly finds dead wasps all over the place and she and her children were repeatedly stung by wasps in the summer (Image: Kelly Piggott)

The worst part has been seeing the impact on her children, Kelly said.

“It’s really affecting their mental health. My daughter had a breakdown due to it all. They hate it there. They absolutely hate it.”

In early August, she said, “It got to the point where I nearly ended my life. I just didn’t see a way out of it for them. It was horrible.

“I hardly left the house because I was so depressed. But once I was out, I didn’t want to go back. I feel sick every time I think about it.”

She made an attempt on her life, she said, but it was unsuccessful. She then contacted Michelle for help.

The News Shopper met Kelly Piggott at her sister-in-law Michelle's home in Dartford. She said she and her children were now all sofa-surfing because they could not bear to return to their mouldy Rochester flat (Image: Charles Thomson)

“She wanted to be sectioned,” Michelle confirmed. “She's now been diagnosed with severe depression and put on antidepressants. The home treatment team have been coming out on a daily basis. They say she should try to stay within the borough, to be near her support network.”

Asked whether it would review Kelly’s case in light of this development, Bexley refused to answer.

“I’ve never had any rent arrears or complaints on my file,” Kelly claimed. “But it’s like they’ve just dumped us there and forgotten about us. It’s appalling. I don’t know how they get away with doing this to families.”

“It’s disgusting how they are washing their hands of her,” added Michelle.

Bexley Council claimed it could not comment on individual cases, but could cite no law which precluded it from doing so.

Kelly said she would be happy living “anywhere in Bexley borough”.

“I’m not picky,” she said. “My poor kids have been pushed everywhere. I just want a place near my family… My kids need stability.”

Anyone can call the Samaritans charity for free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org, or visit www.samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.