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The housing association that managed the flat in which toddler Awaab Ishak was killed by mould received 106 formal complaints about damp or mould in their properties over the last year, Sky News can reveal.

Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) confirmed the figure in a statement where it also said it looks after around 12,500 homes.

A former RBH employee, who resigned because of a “toxic culture” within the organisation, disputes the figure for the amount of complaints and claims there will be “hundreds more” than what has been recorded.

The housing association, which has come under fire over the death of Awaab due to prolonged exposure to damp and mould, said they are “proactively contacting” all of their customers to remind them about how to contact them if they experience any damp or mould in their homes.

Speaking to Sky News, “Eleanor”, who wanted to protect her identity, claimed: “RBH have been putting profit before people for a long time. They try to cut corners and make them more cash-rich. I’ve been in meetings where it has all been about cost-cutting and how much can we save?”

She added: “That has a knock-on effect to the tenants because they’re not going to get that level of service they need. It’s a death by a thousand cuts.”

When asked if she felt others could die at the hands of RBH’s properties if there isn’t drastic change, she replied: “Absolutely. If it’s happened once, it can happen again.”

When asked to confirm how many complaints about damp and mould it had received in a year, RBH said in its statement to Sky News: “We look after around 12,500 homes and over the last 12 months we have had 106 complaints about damp and mould.

“We provide a full response to initial complaints on average within five days.”

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‘More could die’

‘We’re breathing it all into our lungs’

Over the last week Sky News has witnessed at least six homes with mould and damp at the Freehold Estate, where Awaab and his family were living between 2017 and 2020, even two years on from his death.

Uwezo lives with young and old people in the flat below and is now worried for his mum’s health because of the mould which has spread from his bathroom to the kitchen.

He told Sky News: “It’s not obviously safe because we have among us grandchildren and seeing what happened to that poor child, it’s not safe to see this happening like this. The ventilation is too old it needs to be changed.”

He added: “We’re breathing it all into our lungs. My mother already doesn’t have the best health and so it’s really heartbreaking to see my mum living in this environment.”

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‘Awaab’s death must not be in vain’

Housing secretary puts RBH on notice

Concern about RBH’s ability was flagged by Housing Secretary Michael Gove at a select committee hearing.

The MP has put RBH on notice after they sacked their chief executive on Saturday – but he now feels the blame goes beyond Gareth Swarbrick.

He told the committee: “Even when in RBH’s case they had these problems brought to their attention the board thought it appropriate to keep the chief executive in place, and it seems to me you shouldn’t blame one individual, ultimately chief executive and the board should carry the can.”

Read more:
Housing body that rain flat where Awaab Ishak died is ‘racist’, ex-employee claims
Housing boss sacked over death of boy killed by mould

Gareth Swarbrick is doorstepped
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Former chief executive of RBH, Gareth Swarbrick, has been sacked

Asked about Mr Gove’s remarks, a spokesperson for RBH said: “The priority for the board right now is to bring in an external interim chief executive to lead the organisation through this period of change and they are working hard to make that happen as soon as possible.

“Of course the board is also focused on its own role and they will be discussing any changes that need to be made once the interim CEO is in place.”

They said around three-quarters of RBH employees live in Rochdale Borough and many are RBH tenants.

They added that in an employee survey over 85% of 400 employees who responded said they felt well supported by RBH, over 80% said they were proud of how RBH supports customers and colleagues and over 90% felt trusted to do their job.

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13-year-old girl charged with attempted murder after two teachers and pupil stabbed at Carmarthenshire school

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13-year-old girl charged with attempted murder after two teachers and pupil stabbed at Carmarthenshire school

A 13-year-old girl has been charged with three counts of attempted murder after two teachers and a pupil were stabbed at a school.

The three people were treated in hospital for stab wounds but have now been released.

Pupils at Amman Valley School, also known as Ysgol Dyffryn Aman, went into lockdown just after 11.20am on Wednesday following the attack at the end of morning break in Carmarthenshire.

Amman Valley School, which is in the town of Ammanford, is a comprehensive with around 1,500 students aged between 11 and 18.

In a statement on the school’s website, headteacher James Durbridge said on Wednesday it had been a “very difficult day” for the school.

“It goes without saying that my thoughts are with the three individuals and their families, who have been affected by today’s incident,” he said.

“I wish to commend all staff and pupils for their calm and mature response during today’s lockdown.

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“We are proud to have witnessed pupils embodying the school’s core values while supporting their peers and staff.”

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Meanwhile, a 15-year-old boy has been arrested and remains in custody on suspicion of making threats referencing the school attack, Dyfed-Powys Police has said.

Superintendent Ross Evans said: “Following [the stabbing incident], yesterday evening our control room received a number of calls reporting concerns about messages being shared on social media which had references to the incident here at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman.

“Officers swiftly carried out a warrant at the home of the person believed to be responsible for this content and a 15-year-old male has been arrested.

“He also remains in police custody while we investigate these allegations.”

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Two horses which bolted through central London in a ‘serious condition’

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Two horses which bolted through central London in a 'serious condition'

Two horses which bolted and charged through central London are in a “serious condition”, a minister has said.

The Household Cavalry said the animals – which were taking part in what the Army called a “routine exercise” in the Belgravia area on Wednesday – were spooked by builders dropping rubble from a height “right next to them”.

Two horses on the loose bolt through the streets of London near Aldwych.
Pic : PA
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Two horses bolted through the streets of London. Pic : PA

Defence minister James Cartlidge told Sky News on Thursday morning: “There were five horses. They have all been recovered.

“Three of them are fine, two of them are unfortunately in a relatively serious condition and obviously we will be monitoring that condition.”

He added: “They are in a serious condition, but as I understand, still alive.”

The minister also confirmed the names of the two animals, Vida and Quaker.

He stressed while the footage that emerged of the horses running through the capital was “dramatic”, it was “a very exceptional event”.

“This is extremely unlikely, this scenario,” he told LBC.

“Unfortunately we have seen what has happened, but all I can say is the crucial thing… no serious injuries to the public as far as we aware, and of course we will be keeping an eye on the situation.”

A map of where the horses travelled
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A map of where the horses travelled

Four service personnel were thrown from their horses and the animals that ran loose smashed into vehicles, including a taxi and a tour bus.

Paramedics treated four people in three separate incidents in Buckingham Palace Road, Belgrave Square, and at the junction of Chancery Lane and Fleet Street, in the space of just 10 minutes.

Some of the soldiers were taken to hospital for treatment for their injuries, which were not thought to be serious.

Pic: Alice Porter
Image:
Pic: Alice Porter

Two horses on the loose bolt through the streets of London near Aldwych. 
Pic PA
Image:
Pic. PA

One witness got off a bus and described seeing two horses, one black and the other white, “flying past”.

“The white one was drenched in blood from the chest down and they were galloping through the traffic at speed,” she said.

“People were stopping in the street shocked. The horses were running into fast-moving traffic and seemed terrified. Some unmarked police cars were chasing after them, which didn’t seem to be helping.

“I felt shocked. It was pretty gruesome. Felt like a weird dream.”

The horses were eventually recaptured by City of London Police and taken away to be assessed by Army vets.

The animals are all receiving care from vets at Hyde Park barracks.

Commanding Officer of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment Lieutenant Colonel Matt Woodward said in a video statement posted on X the unit exercises around 150 horses on the roads and in parks every morning, partly to help desensitise them to city noise.

He said the “shock” of building materials being dropped from a height near them caused the horses to bolt and unseat some riders

He added: “Thankfully, considering the frequency of exercise and numbers of horses involved, this type of incident is extremely rare, we continue to strive to minimise the risk of this recurring.

“As ever we are grateful for due consideration given by the members of the public to not making loud noises around our horses.”

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UK weather: Why is it suddenly cold and when is it forecast to get warmer?

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UK weather: Why is it suddenly cold and when is it forecast to get warmer?

When temperatures hit nearly 22C in parts of England earlier this month, people might have thought that spring had finally sprung.

But with May fast approaching, temperatures have suddenly dropped, forcing some back into their winter coats and others to switch the heating on once again.

So what has caused the mercury to drop to near-freezing in some parts?

According to Sky News weather presenter Jo Wheeler, an area of high pressure to the west of the UK is behind it.

UK weather: The latest Sky News forecast

thurs0600
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Temperatures were as low as 3C this morning in parts of the UK

“High pressure to the west of the UK and Ireland gave hopes for a few days of settled weather, even though it was forecast to be a ‘cloudy high’,” she says.

“And that is pretty much what we have seen, although the positioning of the high brought cold northerly winds – and eastern counties can vouch for this.

“The high was also weak enough to allow frontal systems (a collision of cold and warm air) to move through it, so we didn’t see entirely dry weather either.

“And, winds were strong enough to give a significant wind chill along the North Sea coasts, which was pretty bitter.”

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That, she says, has resulted in temperatures dropping a few degrees below the April average, though, according to Ms Wheeler “not by much”.

So when will temperatures rise again?

“We’re just a few days from May now, and a change is on the way,” she adds.

“Low pressure, spreading from the south at the weekend, will bring milder conditions but also some rain and fresher winds.”

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Shetlands spaceport given safety licence
Labour promises publicly owned rail

However, the next few days could still be relatively cold, particularly overnight on Friday and potentially Saturday, when temperatures in parts of northern and eastern England could drop to near or even below freezing, according to the Met Office.

And while they say temperatures are likely to “trend upwards” from Sunday, rain and cloudier weather is set to dominate next week, particularly in the south.

According to the Met Office’s forecast for next week, there will be drier weather in northern parts of the UK and a chance of rain or even thundery showers for a time in the east.

“Temperatures [are] likely to trend upwards, with the chance of a warm to very warm spell in some southern and eastern parts, before conditions probably turn drier, cooler and more settled from the west towards the end of the period,” they say.

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