Mum of five Colleen Curran suffered every parent’s nightmare when her nine year old son was rushed to hospital with shocking symptoms. Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, she shares a stark warning for other families
A mother whose son was hospitalised with a horror diagnosis has warned of a hidden danger lurking in millions of homes across the UK, and has spoken exclusively to the Mirror to share her concerns.
“My son, Jonjo, who is now nine, has really suffered with his chest since he was a baby – he’s had croup and bronchitis a few times. His inhaler intake in the winter is a lot worse. This year he’s already been on antibiotics, with two weeks off school. Every year it’s the same, he has two to three weeks off school – sometimes more – because he ends up getting a chest infection and a bad cough and he can’t go in. “
But in November 2024, he was rushed to hospital by ambulance. Colleen says: “Doctors said he had pneumonia and an infection on his left lung. He was hospitalised and on oxygen for five days.” The cause? His home environment. Specifically an abundance of damp and mould.
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In response, Homes Under the Hammer presenter Martin Roberts is fronting a major campaign to improve UK living conditions, after a shocking report revealed one in four Brits are living in homes that are making them ill – with renters being particularly at risk. New research by the Health Equals campaign – a coalition of 100 organisations – obtained from a nationally representative survey of 3,982 people in October 2025, has revealed that 15 million people in the UK live in homes with issues like damp, mould or cold. That’s an estimated six million families and three million children.
The Health Equals report comes just three years after Awab’s Law was introduced in 2023, requiring social landlords to investigate and fix damp and mould within strict timeframes. It was named in memory of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died in 2020 from a severe respiratory condition caused by prolonged exposure to extensive black mould in his home in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.
And we’re in danger of further tradgedies, says Colleen Curran, 41, a single mother of five, who has lived in a two-bedroom council house, provided by Birmingham City Council, in Winson Green, Birmingham, for 13 years. She says: “For most of the time I’ve lived here, I’ve been battling severe damp and mould. It has taken an awful toll on my family’s health, and when I saw the news about Awaab Ishak it scared me because it showed how dangerous your living conditions can be. I’m a single mum to Freya, 14, Michael, 11, Orla, 10, Jonjo, nine, and Connie, two, and, in November 2024, Jonjo, who suffers from serious respiratory issues, was hospitalised and put on oxygen after developing pneumonia. According to the doctors, it was linked to our home’s conditions.”
Colleen, who works at Cadent Warm Wash Centre, where people can wash their clothes for free and have a hot drink while they’re waiting, says the house, built in 1875, is very draughty. She adds: “When I first moved in it wasn’t too bad, everything was freshly painted. But after a few years, I started to notice a lot of damp and it has just kept getting worse. The damp stains never go away, and parts of the roof are missing.
“I tell the council and they come out and paint over it, with anti-mould paint. But by the time they have finished painting the bathroom upstairs, it had already started coming through downstairs. That’s how rapid it is. The mould reappears within days. Dark stains seep visibly through the wallpaper and cold air filters into the house through gaps caused by deteriorating brickwork, missing roof tiles, and damaged guttering. The ongoing battle to keep it at bay is just exhausting.
“There’s black mould in the front room, it’s coming through the wallpaper and making the wallpaper grey, as well white mould. Then in the back room it’s an orangey colour. If it’s been raining the walls feel wet to the touch. It’s constantly clammy. It’s all around the windows. It’s so frustrating.”
Meanwhile, rising energy costs mean Colleen can only afford to heat one room in the house, relying on an electric heater and blankets to keep the children warm. Other parts of the house remain cold and damp, which increases the mould problem. Spending £20 to £30 a week on gas and electricity, using a pay as you go meter, she adds: “Money is tight with five children. You just make the best of it don’t you? “I live in fuel poverty. But I could have my heating on for a week and I don’t think it would make much difference, because there are gaps everywhere.”
Things came to a head in 2024 when Jonjo was hospitalised. Colleen says: “I was so worried, I stayed with him and had to leave the other children with their nan and grandad, and their dad. Doctors confirmed that his condition was linked to issues surrounding the long-standing infestation of damp and mould in our home. There’s nothing worse than seeing your child sick from something that could have been prevented.
“Sadly, I’m sure it won’t be the last time, especially with fuel costs rising and an 0.2 energy price cap increase coming. It’s going to cost even more to keep the kids warm. I’ve got five children in a two bedroom house so my girls sleep downstairs on the sofa bed, which means they’re in the room with the mould. I worry that sleeping for too many years in a room like that, it’s going to start affecting them.
“I support Martin Roberts’ call to action. The Government should see damp, mould and families living in unfit, unsafe housing as a public health crisis. We need to protect our children from going through what poor Awaab and his family went through. I don’t want it to be Jonjo next.”
A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said the council is investing more than £200m a year in providing better council homes. They said: “We are sorry to hear about the difficulties Ms Curran and her family have been experiencing. No one should have to live in a home with damp and mould. Improving the quality of all council homes across Birmingham is a key priority for the council, and we have dedicated teams focused on tackling damp and mould, carrying out repairs, and supporting tenants who need additional help.
“And an inspection of the property is being arranged for next week. A new kitchen, bathroom, and boiler were installed in the property last year, along with repairs to the guttering. We accept that many homes in our housing stock require improvement. The council remains on track to achieve its aim of 100% compliance with the Decent Homes Standards by 2032.
A public health crisis
Martin Roberts says: “It’s got to be recognised as a public health crisis, the amount of damage it’s doing to people, but also the knock on effects it is having on the National Health Service. The environment in which you live not only affects your mental wellbeing, but also has now been proved beyond doubt to potentially very seriously affect your health and the health of your family – and kids especially.”
Little Awab Ishaak died in 2020 as a result of damp and mould in his home. Despite repeated complaints from his father Faisal Abdullah to Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), no action was taken to treat the damp. At an inquest which concluded in November 2022 and North Manchester Coroner’s Court in front of HM Senior Coroner Ms Joanne Kearsley ruled Awab’s death was due to environmental mould pollution. He said: “It’s really devastating.” Awab’s Law was brought in after tireless campaigning by Faisal who said: “My son has passed away now but this has left me a legacy that I can remember. I’m really proud of him.”
But evidence from Health Equals shows unfit living conditions remain rife in the UK. Low income households – particularly those renting – are the most profoundly affected, with the worst areas identified as the West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber. Martin continues: “There are areas where depending on where you live and I guess the socioeconomics of that area your life expectancy could be shortened by up to sixteen years, according to the Health Equals research.”
Paul McDonald, Chief Campaigns Officer at Health Equals, said: “Our research lays bare a health crisis hidden behind closed doors inside people’s homes. Millions are living with issues like damp, cold or mould; conditions proven to damage health and worsen chronic illnesses like asthma and heart disease. A warm, dry, and healthy home shouldn’t be a luxury, but a basic human right.”
Martin Robert’s tips to protect your home from damp and mould
Monitor your home – Let fresh air in, check guttering and clean gutters, check for cracks letting water in and avoid having soil beds pushed up against the house. Martin says: “Modern houses can seem like they’re a bit hermetically sealed so there’s no natural airflow. Strike a balance between keeping the house warm and getting fresh air into that house”
What to look for – Martin says: “Damp and mould shows itself around the windows, in the back of cupboards, generally lower down on walls. Feel the walls, does it feel damp? Does it feel cold? Does it feel wet? Damp tends to smell musty, like an old pair of socks.”
Locate the problem – Martin says: “Properties aren’t rocket science. Normally you can say, ‘well actually I’ve got a bit of damp there, what’s on the other side of that?’ ‘Oh look, there’s a drain pipe that’s got a crack in it’.”
Check your tumble dryer – Martin says: “Because the tumble dryer often sits on the top of a washing machine, which is vibrating, these move, so all the damp air from your dryer is spilling out into the house.”
*Let’s #MakeHealthEqual. See here more information on the Cadent Warm Wash Centres.
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