'It triggered me': Mouldy housing forces Army wife out of UK with illness
A Forces News exclusive shows substandard living accommodation offered to families by British defence.
The health of British service families is being affected by poor living spaces offered by the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
Members of the wider forces community have shown Forces News evidence of substandard accommodation.
Mould, dirt and damp were displayed in the videos submitted, alongside issues with heating and collapsing ceilings.
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One woman, wife to a British Army employee, has been forced to leave the country while her husband finishes his service in single housing.
Unwilling to be named, she developed chronic inflammation after living in two houses with mould - the second one in Dorset.
One area of the building was "covered with black mould" across ceiling, walls and flooring, she said.
"It triggered me. I ran out of the house, just in tears."
She said it takes "two-to-three years" to put her condition "into remission", adding "It’s based on my health now, I obviously can’t stay here."
She’s now living in the US, having taken her teenage son with her.
A National Audit Office report earlier this year found more than a third of the 80,000 servicemen and women in MOD subsidised accommodation were living in 'poorer grade' conditions.
The MOD said in a statement: "Providing high quality accommodation is a top priority and we regret any issues faced by service personnel and their families.
"Over the last two years, the repair service has significantly improved and key performance targets are consistently met."