By George Lythgoe
An infestation of flying ants is the latest in a long line of problems for one frustrated single mum. Lily Forbes moved into her Denton home back in January 2023, which she claims has been plagued with problems. The young mother says at first it was silverfish and woodlice, then came the mould mites in her cupboards. All the while the 26-year-old says she has been battling with damp and mould issues in her carpets. The latest issue came last week when a sudden infestation of flying ants swarmed into her home in Haughton Green. The constant setback of problems has led to her fearing for son Cairo鈥檚 health. The three-year-old has already been given an inhaler by doctors, which the mum claims is due to the conditions of the home. Lily wants to see her social housing landlord, Irwell Valley Homes, take action to fix problems in the long term. The admin worker says that her landlord has come out to deal with issues previously, but the process is long, difficult and usually ends with only short-term fixes. Lily said: 鈥淚 came home from work to an infestation of flying ants in my bedroom. It was so bad, they were all over my furniture, bed, photo frames and you could even hear them moving. 鈥淚 contacted Irwell Valley in desperation, asking if they could put me and my son up for the night somewhere else, but they refused. He even had the cheek to say 鈥榟ave you left food in your room鈥, like I am some sort of animal. 鈥淚 am very respectful and clean. This really made me feel belittled, just because I live in a social flat. I had no choice but to take my son to stay at his dad鈥檚, and I ended up sleeping in my car. 鈥淭his latest issue was just the icing on the cake of problems. It鈥檚 really draining and it鈥檚 affecting my mental health.鈥 She went on to say that even though Irwell Valley brought in workers to deal with the infestation the day after she reported the issue on June 19, the problem remained. Lily fears there could be a nest where they keep coming from. She believes the only reason she first started getting a response from her landlord was because she contacted her local MP, Andrew Gwynne, about the situation. According to Irwell Valley鈥檚 records, November 2024 was their first interaction with Lily. The landlord says they carried out a building inspection which found no signs of damp or mould, despite their tenants鈥 report. This inspection also looked into humidity levels and tested the walls for leaks, but everything came back as normal, IVH claim. They say they found no evidence of silverfish or woodlice. Lily continued: 鈥淭here is mould growing under my bed and in my son鈥檚 bedroom, which I鈥檝e had to completely refurbish myself due to damage. The only advice I鈥檝e been given by Irwell Valley is to 鈥榢eep the windows open鈥, which isn鈥檛 a realistic or effective solution especially with a small child and during cold weather . 鈥淢y three-year-old son now needs to use an inhaler when he鈥檚 with me, as the flat is triggering respiratory problems. It鈥檚 heartbreaking to see his health being affected, and nothing improving despite years of complaints. 鈥淭his situation has completely broken me. I鈥檓 exhausted, mentally drained, and desperate for a safe place for my child and me to live.鈥 She is currently trying to move and is on the housing waiting list with Jigsaw Homes – another housing provider in the Tameside borough. Private renting is not an option available to her as Lily says she lives paycheck to paycheck, so building up funds for a rental deposit is near impossible currently. 鈥淚鈥檓 struggling to keep my head above water. I鈥檝e gone through the complaints process so many times. 鈥淭he emails going back and forth, there is so much to go through just to get a call back. I get to a point where I just want to give up, but then I know I need to keep going (for Cairo).鈥 Irwell Valley says that following the inspection, advice was left with the customer around ventilation. The inspector was also said to have recommended for a fan to be fitted in the kitchen. The unit was ordered at that time, and the housing provider says they have made several attempts to fit this but to date have not been able to gain access to the home to allow this work to be completed. Over the last five months, Irwell Valley say they have received no contact from their tenant about any issues. A spokesperson for Irwell Valley Homes said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e here to support residents and take swift action to any reports of this nature, as we have done for this customer. 鈥淚n November, a property inspector attended and carried out a thorough survey of the home and found no damp, mould or pests present. 鈥淚n June, the customer reported ants at the property. We sent a specialist pest contractor the next day who found limited evidence of an infestation and carried out treatment works to the affected area.鈥