A BRIDPORT family is feeling the ill-effects of living 18 months in a damp flat.

Nicola Kelly, 22, and Russell Weller, 21, are both suffering and say their daughter Alisha, 23 months, has endured 11 chest infections during their time at Doctor Roberts Close.

The family were orginally made homeless when their landlord sold the property they were renting. They spent the next nine months with Russell's mother in a three-bedroomed house sharing with nine adults and a baby.

Finally Raglan Housing Association gave them a flat - built less than five years ago.

Nicola said: "My daughter has had 11 chest infections since we moved in and been on antibiotics six times and before she never had a cough or a cold.

"My partner has never been ill before. He has never had so many chest infections and flus and colds and I keep getting lung infections and my doctor is adamant that it is because of the damp.

He said it is extremely bad and we shouldn't being living here."

She said the bathroom was so damp, the shower curtains, toys, bath seats, towels, mats grow black mould overnight.

Nicola said: "We can't even keep our toothbrushes in there overnight. I am on my fourth shower curtain, I have had six or seven bath mats go black."

The sealant by the French doors has rotted with the damp, letting rain and wind in. The damp ruins the curtains and she has to keep towels at the bottom to keep the drafts out, at night you can hear the wind whistling through, she added.

"It's also a security risk because there's not a proper frame to them. My curtains have been destroyed, these are £200 curtains. The bathroom is that bad they have had to pay compensation already. When we first moved in all it used to do was flood, and they changed the bath.

"The first person who came to change the bath said I had mould because I was not a clean person.

"My mother is an interior designer, all my houses have been clean. I know I have a toddler now and it is a bit harder but you would not let mould grow in your house purposefully by not being clean.

"I scrub daily with anti-fungal disinfectant. I have even got anti-fungal paint. My gas bill has gone up by at least £4 a week with the heat just disappearing through the back doors. The water drips through the doors when it's raining. They told me to keep my heating on all the time which is just going to add more condensation. I just get to the point you just to cry it's so bad specially after being homeless for nine months. These properties aren't even five years old."

Phil Sweet, regional director of Raglan said they had addressed a condensation issue in the bathroom last year.

"Following a call last month our surveyor inspected the property, identified another condensation problem and arranged for our service contractor to fit a dehumidistat fan in the bathroom and treat the affected walls.

"This work should have been completed on February 20 and we are investigating why this has not happened.

"We have agreed the work is necessary and our priority now is to ensure it is completed as soon as possible."