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Mum with autistic child accuses council worker of ‘gaslighting’ her after insisting flooded flat is ‘safe’

Miss O'Hare's council flat was flooded and she is being told it is safe to move back into despite the walls being wet to touch and carpets being soaked through.
Miss O'Hare's council flat was flooded and she is being told it is safe to move back into despite the walls being wet to touch and carpets being soaked through.

A mum forced to flee her home after it flooded has been told it is safe to return – despite it being mouldy and soaked through.

Amanda Jayne O’Hare and her three-year-old daughter Ruby fled from the flat in the early hours of Thursday after water from the above property started pouring in.

Firefighters were called to deal with the flooding at Beechview Court.

Miss O’Hare claims the crew told her she would be “lucky” to get back home anytime soon.

But Aberdeen City Council has insisted she can move her young daughter back in after switching the electric back on.

She said: “When you walk in the smell of mould hits you, the carpets are soaking all the way through, the floorboards are soaking as well.

“I have a three-year-old autistic child and they want us to move into a flat that is freezing cold. The council officer told me to just ‘turn up the heater’.

“It’s absolutely soaking and I can’t believe they’ve said it’s OK to move back in even though it smells of mould.

“They haven’t even offered a dehumidifier, they basically said ‘you don’t qualify for being moved because we consider it safe’.”

Miss O’Hare has accused the housing officer of “gaslighting” her after telling her the flat was safe despite walls being “wet to touch”.

The walls are damp and cracked, even around electrical sockets. Supplied by Amanda Jayne O’Hare.

She claims the officer also concrete under the carpets and argued with Miss O’Hare when she said it was floorboards. He only backed down when a colleague lifted the carpet to find the floorboards underneath were also soaking wet.

Housing officer had ‘no remorse, no emotion’

After speaking to a contractor the mother is concerned about the safety of her daughter in the flat. She was informed that mould can set in a few days, whether it is hot or cold.

She has refused to move home while the flat remains damp and mouldy for fear that she or her daughter could pick up a respiratory illness.

The flat is freezing cold because of the damp and all the windows have been kept open to air the property out.

Miss O’Hare has decided to stay with a friend because Aberdeen City Council will not put her in a hotel for another night.

The walls are severely damp and the mum is worried about mould spreading. Supplied by Amanda Jayne O’Hare.

She claimed the housing officer told her she could appeal the decision, but failed to tell her how.

She said: “He didn’t even tell me how to appeal, he just said ‘you can appeal’ there was no remorse, there was no emotion.

“I said to him ‘would you put your three kids in here?’ and he wouldn’t give me a straight answer.”

She has also been advised that she needs to put the damages on her own insurance and will need to pay £250 excess to even start the claim.

“I was the victim in all this,” she said. “I got woken up in the middle of the night to my flat flooding and had to run out screaming with the three-year-old autistic disabled daughter.

“I can’t take Ruby back there, I can’t let her get dangerously ill.”

An Aberdeen City Council spokesman said: “This is a matter between the council and the tenant, which we are working to resolve.”