MOULD and damp problems are making life a misery for some people living in rented flats at Townstal, Dartmouth.

Among them are young families who say the situation has become so bad it is making them ill.

But Devon and Cornwall Housing, which owns many of the properties, believes the problem is not widespread, with 'no overdue damp- related repairs reported' and has agreed to meet tenants to tackle concerns.

Meanwhile, Dartmouth MP Dr Sarah Wollaston has also asked to meet with Townstal residents to discuss housing problems and other worries.

Mum Kathryn Hathaway, who lives in a two-bedrooomed flat in Mashford Avenue, said there was damp and mould in her children's bedroom and that she was told different things by different people who looked at the problem.

'I have three young boys and it makes them ill,' she said. 'I thought they would have sorted out the problem, as the damp is in their bedroom.

'My property is also over-crowded with two adults and three children in a little two-bed flat, which does not help the matter.

'I have been trying to move for about three years now and we haven't succeeded.'

Grandmother Wendy Price said her family had suffered problems with mould while living in various flats – both properties owned by DCH and private landlords – in Mayflower Close and Rock Park over the last two years.

For more on this story, see this week's Dartmouth Chronicle