'I'm sleeping in a motorhome this winter as my house is too damp'

A MAN living in a home plagued with damp and mould has said he will be living in a motorhome parked outside this winter, as he claims his property is "not safe to live in".

- ROBERT DALLING

David Barlow, of Tudor Court in Murton, Swansea, said the issues, which he first reported to property management company FirstPort back in November 2023, remain unresolved.

In a special report in February, we reported accounts from residents living in three different areas of Swansea who all stated they were struggling living in properties owned and managed by FirstPort.

There were claims that it had failed to act months after being issued with an improvement order.

In Mr Barlow's case, he explained how in the summer outside his window, he "had fungi growing the size of a dustbin lid" and in the nights when he goes to sleep, he does so in a sleeping bag under two duvets, fully clothed with a woolly hat on, adding that it is warmer outside than it is in the house and that he was "just existing."

FirstPort has said it is "doing all it can" to expedite the matter, blaming the fault on the original installer.

In an update, Mr Barlow, a children's support worker, said: "It's going backwards, if anything. We're absolutely nowhere near getting the issue resolved as we are coming up to a third winter.