Woman in critical condition after council ‘failed to fix mould and damp issues’

Published

1 year ago

January 16, 2024

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A woman has been left critically ill after a council failed to get rid of mould and damp which was affecting her health, her husband has told Sky News.

Morgan Sinnott is on a ventilator in intensive care after being rushed to hospital while struggling to breathe on New Year’s Day.

Her husband, Lewis Sinnott, believes issues in their one-bedroom flat have contributed to his wife’s severe ill health.

The council has said it is “doing everything we can to rectify issues of condensation, damp and mould” at the Waltham Abbey property and highlighted that workers have visited “several times” to fix various problems.

Mrs Sinnott has an extremely rare genetic condition, Wolfram Syndrome, that makes her vulnerable to respiratory illnesses. This is the third time she has had pneumonia.

Just weeks before she was rushed to hospital, her specialist consultant wrote a letter urging the council to find the family a new home.

Mr Sinnott has said the council’s actions are “unacceptable”.

“They [the council] could have prevented this from happening years ago and they’ve done nothing,” he told Sky News.

“They got warned about this, they’ve had hospital letters, they’ve had everything that they’ve asked for, and they’ve done nothing about it.”

Mr Sinnott believes the recurring mould and damp are being caused by deep, structural issues that need to be addressed.

Epping Forest District Council told Sky News it is “very sorry” to hear of Mrs Sinnott’s illness.

It also admitted that it’s unclear why the flat “is suffering so badly in comparison with others in the block” and said the property’s condition has “greatly improved” since recently completed works.

Addressing the couple’s request to move, a spokesman added that there is a “chronic lack of social housing” in Epping Forest, “where demand far outstrips supply”.

It is looking at the family’s request for a transfer in light of Mrs Sinnott’s hospitalisation and this will be assessed by an independent medical adviser.

“In the meantime, we will continue to monitor and treat the symptoms of damp and mould at no 53 and investigate whether there is anything else we can do to remedy the causes,” he said.

Health officials have told Sky News that tackling the country’s housing issues will relieve pressure on the NHS.

About 20% of respiratory admissions into hospitals this winter will be a result of people living in poor housing conditions, Dr Andy Knox – a GP and associate medical director for the Lancashire and South Cumbria integrated care board -said.

The government recently proposed new guidelines that would mean social landlords have to address and fix problems within a strict timeframe.

The requirements are part of a consultation under legislation named after Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old who died from a respiratory condition caused by prolonged exposure to mould in December 2020. Awaab and his family lived in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

Greg Fell, president of the Association of Directors for Public Health, has warned that councils will need to be able to afford repair costs or construction of new homes.

“Laws are great but we need to be able to afford to implement them,” he said.

UK

Kids ‘sleep with vapes under pillows’ – but will sales ban on disposables have any effect?

Published

4 hours ago

May 31, 2025

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Kids 'sleep with vapes under pillows' - but will sales ban on disposables have any effect?

As a ban on the sale of disposable vapes comes into force on Sunday, a doctor who set up the first-ever clinic to help children stop vaping has said she has seen patients so addicted they couldn’t sleep through the night without them.

Professor Rachel Isba established the clinic at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool in January and has now seen several patients as young as 11 years old who are nicotine dependent.

“Some of the young people vape before they get out of bed. They are sleeping with them under their pillow,” she told Sky News.

“I’m hearing stories of some children waking up at three o’clock in the morning, thinking they can’t sleep, thinking the vape will help them get back to sleep. Whereas, actually, that’s the complete opposite of how nicotine works.”

Ms Isba said most of her patients use disposable vapes, and while some young people may use the chance to give up, others will simply move to refillable devices after the ban.

“To me, vaping feels quite a lot like the beginning of smoking. I’m not surprised, but disappointed on behalf of the children that history has repeated itself.”

A government ban on single-use vapes comes into effect from Sunday, prohibiting the sale of disposable vaping products across the UK, both online and in-store, whether or not they contain nicotine.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said usage among young vapers remained too high, and the ban would “put an end to their alarming rise in school playgrounds and the avalanche of rubbish flooding the nation’s streets”.

Circular economy minister Mary Creagh said: “For too long, single-use vapes have blighted our streets as litter and hooked our children on nicotine. That ends today. The government calls time on these nasty devices.”

At nearby Shrewsbury House Youth Club in Everton, a group of 11 and 12-year-old girls said vape addiction is already rife among their friends.

Yasmin Dumbell said: “Every day we go out, and at least someone has a vape. I know people who started in year five. It’s constantly in their hand.”

Her friend Una Quayle said metal detectors were installed at her school to try to stop pupils bringing in vapes, and they are having special assemblies about the dangers of the devices.

But, she said, students “find ways to get around the scanners though – they hide them in their shorts and go to the bathroom and do it”.

The girls said the ban on disposables is unlikely to make a difference for their friends who are already addicted.

According to Una, they’ll “find a way to get nicotine into their system”.

As well as trying to address the rise in young people vaping, the government hopes banning single-use vapes will reduce some of the environmental impact the devices have.

Although all vapes can be recycled, only a tiny proportion are – with around eight million a week ending up in the bin or on the floor.

Pulled apart by hand

Even those that are recycled have to be pulled apart by hand, as there is currently no way to automate the process.

Scott Butler, executive director of Material Focus, a recycling non-profit group, said vapes were “some of the most environmentally wasteful, damaging, dangerous consumer products ever sold”.

His organisation worries that with new, legal models being designed to almost exactly mimic disposables in look and feel – and being sold for a similar price – people will just keep throwing them away.

He said the behaviour “is too ingrained. The general public have been told ‘vapes are disposable’. They’ve even been marketed this way. But they never were disposable”.

UK

Why stockpiling vapes could be dangerous – as ban on disposables nears

Published

4 hours ago

May 31, 2025

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Why stockpiling vapes could be dangerous - as ban on disposables nears

A ban on disposable vapes comes into force on Sunday, with a warning issued about the “life-threatening dangers” of stockpiling.

From Sunday it will be illegal for any business to sell or supply, or have in their possession for sale, all single-use or disposable vapes.

Online nicotine retailer Haypp said 82% of the 369 customers they surveyed plan to bulk purchase the vapes before they are no longer available.

But the vapes contain lithium batteries and could catch fire if not stored correctly.

While more than a third (34%) of people surveyed by Haypp said they would consider buying an illegal vape after the ban, the overall number of people using disposable products has fallen from 30% to to 24% of vapers, according to Action on Smoking and Health.

Shops selling vapes are required to offer a “take back” service, where they accept vapes and vape parts that customers return for recycling – including single use products.

The Local Government Association (LGA) led the call for a ban two years ago, due to environmental and wellbeing concerns, and is warning people not to stockpile.

Cllr David Fothergill, chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “Failing to store disposable vapes correctly could cost lives, given the significant fire risk they pose.”

How disposable vapes catch fire – or even explode

Figures obtained by the Electric Tobacconist, via Freedom of Information requests, found an increase in vape related fires – from 89 in 2020 to 399 in 2024.

Many disposable vapes use cheap, or even unregulated lithium-ion batteries, to keep the costs down. These batteries often lack proper safety features, like thermal cut offs, making them more prone to overheating and catching fire.

If the battery is damaged, or overheats in any way it can cause thermal runaway – a chain reaction where the battery’s temperature rapidly increases, causing it to overheat uncontrollably.

Then, once these fires start start, they are very hard to stop. Water alone can make things worse if the battery is still generating heat, so they require specialised fire suppressants to put them out.

Batteries can then re-ignite hours, or even days later, making them a persistent hazard.

Disposable vapes are a hazard for waste and litter collection and cause fires in bin lorries, even though customers have been warned not to throw them away in household waste. They are almost impossible to recycle because they are designed as one unit so the batteries cannot be separated from plastic.

Some 8.2 million units were thrown away, or recycled incorrectly, every week prior to the ban.

Circular economy minister Mary Creagh said: “For too long, single-use vapes have blighted our streets as litter and hooked our children on nicotine. That ends today.

“The government calls time on these nasty devices.”

‘One in five say they will return to cigarettes’

Separate research by life insurance experts at Confused.com found two in five people (37%) planned to stop vaping when the ban starts.

Nearly one in five (19%) said they would return to cigarettes once the ban comes into force.

The research was based on the answers of 500 UK adults who currently vape.

Vaping and smoking also appears to be on the rise, with Confused.com saying there was a 44% increase in the number of people declaring they smoke or vape on their life insurance policy since 2019.

UK

Russell Brand: Comedian and actor pleads not guilty to rape and sexual assault charges

Published

22 hours ago

May 30, 2025

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Russell Brand has pleaded not guilty to rape and sexual assault charges as he appeared in court in London.

The British comedian and actor, from Hambleden in Buckinghamshire, was charged by post last month with one count each of rape, indecent assault and oral rape as well as two counts of sexual assault.

The charges relate to alleged incidents involving four separate women between 1999 and 2005.

The 49-year-old, who has been living in the US, was flanked by two officers as he pleaded not guilty to all the charges at Southwark Crown Court today.

Brand stood completely still and looked straight ahead as he delivered his pleas.

The comedian, who has consistently denied having non-consensual sex since allegations were first aired two years ago, is due to stand trial in June 2026.