A FORMER lorry driver is appealing to his housing association landlords to get rid of the mould in his Tidworth flat after being flooded for the third time in three years.

Justin Ford has had an ongoing battle with mould in his Collins Court property which has caused him to have respiratory problems and forced him to give up work.

The 43-year-old has lived in the flat for eight years and the problems with severe mould began several years ago with extensive mildew in the porch and under the stairs which ruined many of his personal possessions including pictures of his parents who had recently passed away.

He says The Guinness Partnership, his landlords, eventually agreed to a heater in the porch after months of complaining.

The kitchen has been flooded a total of four times – three of those in the last three years – causing damaged to the oven top, hob and cupboards which are his own property as well as losing the contents of his fridge and freezer worth £200.

He says it then took Guinness nearly a year to repair the damaged cupboards and walls following the previous flood when it was flooded again from the upstairs flat in October last year.

Describing the damage, he said: “I came back and the electric was off, the cupboards were full of water, there was a couple of inches of water on the floor and the top of the cooker was damaged.

“I felt totally drained when I saw it, both emotionally and physically, after nearly a year of battling to get the damage repaired from the previous flood. I just felt sick.”

For the second time in a two-year period the keen fisherman had to mop all the water out of the kitchen, wipe down the walls and clean out and dry the recently-replaced kitchen cupboards.

He immediately contacted his landlords who told him to claim on his contents insurance which would have cost him £250 excess plus an additional £250.

For the last four months he has been living in the damp flat where he has had to wipe down the cupboards weekly and the mould growing behind them spreads into the cupboard.

“I can’t even do a proper shop because I can’t keep food in the place,” he said.

“Every time I need to eat I have to wash the plate and the pots and pans before I can use them because you can smell mould.

“It’s been hell.”

When Mr Ford moved into the property he painted and fully carpeted throughout but those floor coverings have had to be pulled up because of the damp damage.

“The thing I don’t get is is how a neighbour can damage my property and I have to pay for it,” he said.

“They are vulnerable people living here, not people with lots of money.

“I was vulnerable when I moved in and all this stress doesn’t put somebody like myself in a good place.”

Guinness have this week began works on the current mould issue in the kitchen, replacing the backs of the cupboards but the damaged structure of the cupboards and the cracked kitchen tiles remain.

“To me it is too little too late,” he concluded.

A Guinness Partnership spokeswoman said: “We’re continuing to work with Mr Ford to tackle the mould issue in his flat.

“Our surveyor will be going out to check on the work done so far.

“We have also advised Mr Ford how to prevent mould from forming in future by improving the ventilation in his home.”