AN ELDERLY woman claims she has been forced to sleep downstairs due to mould in her house having previously moved into a hotel.

Patricia Hobby, age 84, has been sleeping on her sofa after returning to her home in Meadow Walk, Pershore, and finding mould on her walls upstairs.

She had moved into hotels in Worcester to escape the issue but had hoped it had been resolved before returning home.

She said: "You can smell the mould as you walk upstairs.

"You can't open the doors it's so bad.

"You can't sleep up there and you can't go to the toilet."

However, her landlord, Rooftop Housing Group, said the issue is minor and it is doing all it can to access the room to treat the damp and mould.

Read more: Platform Housing threaten Martley man with legal action

Read more: Fire in former cannabis farm building in Blackpole

Mrs Hobby and her son David, 58, spent several weeks living in hotels because of the mould in their house.

Rooftop Housing came to clear the mould and the pair came back to their house on Thursday (September 12).

"We were told it was safe to come back as it was only one room that still needed doing.

"We came back and we couldn't go upstairs because it was still so bad."

Claire Lees, executive director of operations at Rooftop Housing, said: "As a housing provider we have a responsibility to ensure our residents' homes are safe, sound and secure, and that maintenance is completed within our target timescales.

"Following a recent inspection of the property, we found minor damp and mould.

"No extensive damp mould has been identified and work has already been completed at the property, with remaining works in one room scheduled for September 18.

"We arranged to support the resident to move furniture on September 17 which would allow the work to be carried out.

"Unfortunately, due to the resident's possessions, the area was not accessible and we will continue to work with the resident to ensure we can complete the work as soon as possible.

"The issue of damp and mould in our homes is something that we take extremely seriously and there are many ways in which it can become a problem, so we have published an in-depth guide on our website to support our residents in minimising the risks associated, and to provide a simple way of reporting issues to us."