Brighton family's flooding hell: 'We just want a normal life'

Yasmin Keeley said broken water pipes have flooded her family’s council flat in Durham Close, Bevendean, six times since 2018.

In that year, the family said they had to move out for more than a month after water poured from the flat upstairs and left their property damp and mouldy.

Video footage shows water streaming down a “live electric” bathroom light cord. Photos show the property speckled with green mould.

Mrs Keeley said there are now “constant leaks” and crumbling floors from where the flat has been “absolutely drenched”.

She said the family has been forced to sleep in the living room for days while contractors carry out repairs.

The family: Yasmin Keeley, 28, Aaliyah, 7, Riley, 9, and Jake, 27

She believes the leaks stem from plumbing problems in the three-storey building.

Mrs Keeley said: “It’s terrible, and it’s got worse.

“There are holes in the floor, and the place has been crumbling since the middle of last year.

“It took hours to turn the water off after the first flooding. Since then, I’ve tried contacting the council again and again. I’ve lost count how many times. I’ve even asked other people to write letters for me.

“We can’t live like this. We ring up all the time – sometimes they say they’re sending someone out, and sometimes they don’t come.

“My daughter Aaliyah has problems with her sight.

“She can’t see the holes in the floor when she’s walking and she keeps tripping.

“My asthma has been bad with all the mould, and I’ve had to go to hospital on numerous occasions and use a nebuliser at home.

“It’s appalling we’re still having to live like this.

“We pay full rent and we aren’t on benefits.

“We just want to live a normal family life, but it’s been impossible.

“One leak stops, another one starts, and the mould keeps coming back. It’s having a really bad effect on us.

“I don’t want visitors over, and my kids don’t want their friends to come because it’s so messy.

“Each day I try and tidy up. But I’m left wondering why I do it because of the state we’re having to live in.

“We just don’t know where to turn.”

Crumbling floors

A spokesman for Mears, the council’s maintenance contractors, said: “We are very sorry to hear about this case and we are looking into it as a matter of urgency.”

A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: “We are sorry about the delay in resolving the issues the tenant and her family are facing. We attended the original leak in March 2018 and alternative accommodation was offered while works were carried out.

“We were made aware of a further leak late last year and are working to resolve the issues.

“We acknowledge there has been some difficulty in securing mutually agreeable appointments to undertake the necessary repairs.

“A surveyor is booked to attend on March 2 to agree a schedule for outstanding repair works.”

Yasmine said she had not been informed.