A MUM of four says she has been forced to abandon her council house amid claims that untreated mould and damp issues led to her baby daughter spending two weeks in hospital with a chest infection.

Caley Moffat says she has repeatedly asked East Lothian Council to treat the dripping walls in the house she shared with her young children on Coalgate, Tranent.

But she says council workers insist the problem is nothing more than condensation and offered her two electric fan heaters as a solution.

Caley, 23, has now moved her family into her grandmother’s house nearby for the sake of their health.

“East Lothian Council has shown no concern for my children’s health or safety," he claimed. "Their attitude is appalling and they seem determined to do nothing about the state of the housing they expect people to live in.”

Caley moved into the house in 2014 with children Corrie, six, Kadien, five, Harley, four, and Mia, who is now one. But she said within days of moving in the boiler broke and despite council workers coming to fix it, the upstairs of the four-bedroom property has never had heating.

She believes this has led to the damp and mould in the house spreading, destroying the children’s bedding and their clothes. She said: “I have had to throw out clothes, the children’s school shoes, beds, everything has been affected by the mould. Yet when anyone from the council visits, they insist it is just condensation.

“That seems to be their response to everything... condensation. They can’t expect us to accept that."

Mia was born prematurely and in December last year she was admitted to hospital suffering bronchiolitis.

Caley blames the poor conditions in the home for causing Mia to become so unwell.

When officials still failed to help them, she moved her family into her grandmother’s home.

She said council officials offered to remove the mould-damaged furnishings from her garden if she signed a form declaring the local authority was not liable for the damage; and when she continued to complain, she claims they threatened her with an anti-social behaviour order.

Now she is demanding the council takes responsibility for the state of her home and others affected by damp. She said: “I don’t think it is too much to ask that our house is warm and safe for my children to live in. The council needs to accept it is failing its tenants instead of branding those who complain troublemakers.”

A council spokesperson said: "Whilst it would be inappropriate for the council to publicly detail an individual tenant’s circumstances, we can confirm that repairs enquiries are responded to promptly and we work with our tenants to identify and resolve issues as quickly as possible.

"Efforts have been made to access the property to enable remedial work to be carried promptly to improve the situation. Our staff will continue to work with the tenant to arrange access to carry out this essential work as a matter of priority."