Fadumo Omar, a working mother of seven, has spoken out about the dire conditions in her privately rented three-bedroom home in St Werburghs, Bristol, which she says is infested with rats and mould. She lives there with her children, aged three to 11, and her mother. Ms Omar, who works at Sainsbury's, claims the property has broken windows, holes in floors and walls, and bricks and rubble in the garden.
Ms Omar has joined campaign group ACORN to protest outside the shop of her landlord, Ejaz Ahmed, demanding repairs. She says the rat problem is so severe that she cannot keep food in the house overnight, and mould is making her children ill. She keeps her children downstairs until bedtime because of a hole in the bedroom floor and unsafe windows.
Mr Ahmed denies some of the claims, stating he has cleared the garden and is working with pest control and environmental health officers. He says he has fitted a new boiler and paid £1,250 compensation after previous protests. Ms Omar says she has been trying to get issues resolved for years, but only felt taken seriously after joining ACORN.
ACORN organiser Ewan McLennan described the garden as dangerous, with piles of bricks and a rubble-filled hole. Ms Omar has registered on the council housing list but is not considered a priority as she is not homeless. She says her children keep asking when they can move, but she tells them it is not easy.
