A DISABLED man has criticised a housing association for leaving him in a house with layers of black mould growing up the walls.

Waves of mould that have been growing up the walls of Paul Lashbrook-Cox’s Abingdon flat, and have got so bad he said he cannot cannot sleep in his bedroom.

The 54-year-old said that when he moved into the flat in Dodson Court in April, it was fine, but after a few weeks little black specks of mould began to appear which have now spread all over the property.

Mr Lashbrook-Cox claimed he has been forced to move into the lounge and sleep on the sofa because he cannot breathe properly in his room.

He added: “The plaster is coming off the walls.

“I have to sleep on the sofa because I cannot sleep in this bedroom.

“It’s affecting my health, it’s giving me a bad chest.

“I cannot sleep at night because I cannot breathe. The bed is ruined.

“I cannot open the windows all night because I’m on the ground floor.”

The flat, off the Vineyard, is run by Sovereign Housing Association, which provides homes for people on all incomes including social rent, private rent, shared ownership, over 55s, and specialist housing. It has about 70,000 tenants.

Mr Lashbrook-Cox, who has plates in his legs and suffers from depression, lives off Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and the Disability Living Allowance (DLA).

He said he reported the problem to the housing association in May.

An inspector who came out to look at the problem said he would have to move into temporary accommodation during the repairs.

Sovereign spokeswoman Debbie Down said the move had been delayed by Mr Lashbrook-Cox refusing his first offer of temporary accommodation.

She added: “We pride ourselves on providing good quality homes for our residents and will take all necessary steps to rectify repairs in a timely manner.

“In cases such as these, we require the resident to move into temporary accommodation while the work takes place.

“Sometimes it isn’t possible to instigate a move straight away, if the resident refuses our offer of alternative accommodation or alternative accommodation isn’t available.

“Once temporary accommodation has been agreed by all parties concerned we will carry out the work.”

Mr Lashbrook-Cox said the association’s first offer was sheltered housing, which consisted of a room with a toilet, but no kitchen facilities.

He added: “Sovereign have been aware of the problem since May. It was one room with a toilet and a sink, which I turned down.

“I just want them to do something about it.

“I have been phoning every two weeks and I have had no proper response.”

After turning down the sheltered accommodation room, Mr Lashbrook-Cox was offered a room at a bed and breakfast, which he accepted in July.

But he claims he has not had any response since then and said: “It is really affecting me. I’m getting more and more depressed. They’ve made me suffer since May.”