A mother living in military housing run by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said mould is “spreading like wildfire” in the property, where she and her son have had to defecate in buckets due to pipe blockages, and she is now calling for public help with her “hopeless” living situation.

Alda Sykes, 52, who is currently unemployed and relies on benefits, moved into her current home in Woodbridge, Suffolk, with her two children, who she does not wish to name, in 2018.

Two years later, Alda said she started to notice mould forming in the property, which she believes was caused by a heating issue, and she was offered portable oil heaters.

Although repair work has been completed since, including cleaning and painting, to try to resolve the three-year issue, Alda has said the mould has “gotten worse and worse over time”.

Alda said the mould is ‘black’ (Collect/PA Real Life)

The mother-of-two has reported the mould to housing management provider Pinnacle Group and was advised in September 2023, in an email seen by PA Real Life, that the damp and mould process to undertake repair works, which would be carried out by contractor Amey, can take up to 12 months.

The MoD has now stated that it is working with its contractors to fix the issues “as quickly as possible”, but Alda said she is “at the lowest point she has ever been in (her) life”.

“(The mould is) spreading like wildfire, you can almost see it grow; if you watch a patch, you can almost see it spread,” Alda told PA Real Life.

Alda said she feels “hopeless” and, although she has tried to rebuild her life after leaving her ex-partner, who she does not wish to name, around a decade ago, she is struggling to pay bills amid the cost-of-living crisis, and cannot even afford Christmas presents for her children, now 15.

Alda said her home is ‘freezing’ as she cannot afford to pay for heating currently (Collect/PA Real Life)

Alda said she feels “humiliated” after launching a fundraiser to help her pay for a second-hand car, heating and food over the winter, and to give her children the life “they deserve”.

“We’re sitting here, freezing, we’re literally wearing three layers of clothes, under blankets. I had a small, electric, portable heater, but that’s packed up,” Alda said.

“The mould is absolutely taking over, the ceilings are black because we have no heating in the house, and I eat maybe every two or three days to make sure my child has enough food.

“I can’t afford to feed my child, I can’t afford to heat the house, I just don’t know where to turn.”

Alda with her pet rats (Collect/PA Real Life)

Alda said she left her ex-partner with her children in 2012 with just a suitcase of clothes and “£136 to (her) name”, hoping to start anew.

She settled into her current property, which she is sub-letting from the MoD, in 2018 but now finds herself in “dire straits” as she is unemployed and cannot afford food or heating bills.

She said she has been dealing with the home’s “relentless” mould problem for three years, meaning she has to scrub and clean the “black and brown” spores every fortnight.

“I use vinegar to kill the mould and then I clean that off and spray bleach on the stain, but two weeks later the mould is back again,” Alda explained.

Some of the mould in the property (Collect/PA Real Life)

Alda claims several surveys have been completed and some repair works have been carried out, however, the mould keeps returning and is “alive” on the ceilings and walls.

“The mould is everywhere… We can’t smell it because we have probably gone nose blind, but other people come in and say they can smell the damp,” Alda said.

“It’s causing us health issues… Me and my son get migraines maybe every two or three days each week and we’re all wheezing.

“It’s not healthy breathing in mould spores all day long for three years.”

Alda said there have been pipe blockages as well, which have since been resolved by MoD contractors, and claims she and her children had to urinate in the bath and defecate in buckets earlier this year.

Alda said her bathroom was flooded after the toilet would not flush (Collect/PA Real Life)

“We couldn’t flush the toilet because, with the pipes outside being blocked, there was nowhere for everything to go, so it just flooded the bathroom,” she said.

“We were pooing in buckets and putting it in plastic bags and chucking it out in the rubbish.”

Feeling frustrated about the ongoing mould problem, Alda said she contacted her MP, Therese Coffey, and this prompted another survey, but the issue is still yet to be resolved.

Although she said she has been called several times by MoD contractors since contacting PA Real Life and they are organising repair works, Alda fears the mould issue could continue.

Alda said the mould is affecting her health (Collect/PA Real Life)

“They don’t seem to care about the actual tenants, it’s only when it’s going to have repercussions for them – bad press, an MP getting involved – that they do something,” she said.

On top of this, Alda is currently relying on benefits, including universal credit, and food banks to survive, and she has been quoted £1,500 to fix her car, which she cannot afford.

She has therefore launched a fundraiser with a £4,000 target so that she can buy a second-hand car, which she said would help her find a job and “get back on her feet” as there are limited public transport options nearby, and pay for food and heating over the winter.

She belongs to a Facebook group called Random Acts of Crochet Kindness, where members leave crochet items which they have made for strangers to find and keep, as Alda wants to give back.

She has recently made some fingerless gloves for her and her son because their home is so cold, and she even made a crochet hat for one of her pet rats called Mouse.

Alda’s pet rat called Mouse wearing a crochet hat she made (Collect/PA Real Life)

If there is any money to spare from the fundraiser, she said she might buy Christmas presents for her children, as she currently cannot afford any gifts this year.

“I can’t even cry, I’m just so numb,” Alda said.

“I’ve always been the one everybody else turns to, I’ve always been the one who helps everybody else, and now that I need help, there’s just nobody there.

“It’s humiliating, having to ask for money, but I can’t even explain how much it would mean to me to reach the target.”

Alda has launched a fundraiser to help her pay for a second-hand car, heating, and food over the winter (Collect/PA Real Life)

An MoD spokesperson said: “We take reports of damp and mould extremely seriously and have a robust plan in place to deal with it across the service family housing estate.

“We are working with our contractors to fix the issues raised by the occupant as quickly as possible, including offering them an alternative property in the same street.

“We recently announced a £400 million investment in service family accommodation over the next two years, with funding to rectify damp and mould mitigation packages for around 4,000 families as well as £94 million of more substantial damp and mould prevention works.”

Pinnacle Group was approached for comment but said it was appointed to the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, part of the MoD, as the responsible party for the homes.

To find out more or to donate, visit Alda’s fundraiser here: gofundme.com/f/help-alda-buy-a-car-and-heating-oil-for-winter