A heavily-pregnant mum has been forced to send her seven-year-old son to stay with his gran because of damp problems in her home.

Mum-of-three Sarah Brodie, 31, of Brown Royd Avenue, Rawthorpe, first reported her leaking flat roof to landlord Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing (KNH) last November.

Despite repeated promises no repairs have been carried out and damp has seeped into two of the three bedrooms in the upper-storey maisonette.

Sarah’s son Dominic suffers from bronchial asthma and the damp and dust from crumbling plasterwork was making him ill.

He was sent to live with his gran in a one-bedroomed flat in Almondbury a couple of months ago, leaving him a long trip to and from school.

Sarah, who lives with partner Phillip Smith, 28, and daughters Sophie Brook, 12, and Melissa Brodie, nine, is due to give birth to her fourth child on October 19 and hates the thought of bringing her new-born son to a damp home.

“I can’t believe we have been left to live like this,” she said. “We first reported the roof last November but they still can’t give us a date when the work will be done.

The flats on Brown Royd Avenue, Rawthorpe where Sarah Brodie lives with her daughters and partner
The flats on Brown Royd Avenue, Rawthorpe where Sarah Brodie lives with her daughters and partner

“The last time I spoke to them they said they were waiting for the job to be ‘signed off’ but they keep saying that.

“We’ve had to split the family up and I don’t want to bring a new baby home to this.

“I’ll be sleeping downstairs in the living room with him. We’ve got an airbed and a Moses basket.”

A spokesman for KNH said: “We’re very sorry that Ms Brodie is experiencing problems because of a leaking roof.

Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing
Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing

“The flats are due to get new roofs as part of our on-going maintenance programme. However, because some of them are privately owned, we need to follow certain steps to make sure the owners are properly consulted and the work then needs to be put out to tender. This is where the scheme is up to at the moment.

“In the meantime, we’re visiting Ms Brodie to see what we can do to alleviate the problem.”