‘I can feel things crawling over me’: Woman fears returning to council flat after years of cockroach infestations and leaks

A single mother-of-two has said she is “traumatised” after living in an insect-infested council flat with constant leaks and mould for eight years.

Shikisha Fraser, 34, lives in the Wandsworth council-run Eliot Court, in Garratt Lane, with her two sons, Cairo Fraser, 11, and Rafiq Fraser, 16.

She was moved into temporary accommodation on March 12 so the council could complete repairs at her property. The three of them have two beds in one room and share a communal bathroom with other hostel tenants. 

Ms Fraser said: “I had to fight even to get into a hostel – I have sent doctors’ letters showing all of our health conditions. It feels like one of us has to die for the council to do anything.”

But now she is there, Ms Fraser said she cannot face going back into her flat once repairs are finished.

She was admitted to hospital with pneumonia earlier this year, and now relies on an inhaler to breathe. Her son is also on antibiotics for a persistent chest infections which she believes could be linked to mould in the property. 

Ms Fraser was signed off from her job as a children’s support worker for three months on March 7 due to stress.

She said: “I am in therapy, on sleeping pills and anti-depressants because my mental health is in tatters, and the only reason is my housing conditions. I have lost everything – mould and leaks have destroyed my furniture and clothes.

“I can’t feed my children in that flat because the electrics constantly trip. We are infested with bed bugs, cockroaches, mice and rats – I can feel things crawling over me constantly.

“My youngest can’t grow up properly – his school said he won’t talk to other students anymore and he needs extra help.”

In 2022 an e-petition was set up by tenants of Eliot Court, urging the council to take the “infestation of cockroaches, ghost ants and bed bugs” seriously. 

The petition stated: “Pests are running rampant, causing unsanitary living conditions, structural damages and, in extreme circumstances, exploding appliances.”

Ms Fraser said she feels “blamed” by the council for some of the disrepair at her property.

She said: “They said I was messy when I reported cockroaches and said the leaks were only in my flat, but last month everyone in the block got a letter saying they were working on leaks in the whole block.”

Ms Fraser is also concerned about the presence of asbestos in the flat. She claims a housing manager told her asbestos was under her flooring and it would be removed.

She said: “There is a reason everyone I know in this block has been prescribed an inhaler since moving in – there is mould everywhere.”

A spokesman for the council said: “Our tenant has been provided with temporary accommodation while we carry out a series of repairs to her flat that she has requested.

“Unfortunately she is not currently providing our contractors with access to complete these works and has instead requested a move to a larger property. We will continue to liaise with her in an effort to resolve this matter.”

Pictured top: Mould and damp in Ms Fraser’s flat, Shikisha Fraser (Picture: Shikisha Fraser)