A housing company has investigated after a complaint about an alleged infestation of flies in a block of flats.
Tenant Paul Furey said a neighbouring flat at Park Court, Gateshead, was infested with the insects.
He said: “They are bouncing off a window trying to get out.
“I can’t cook because the flies land on any food as soon as it is unwrapped.
“I am asking for a reduction in rent because I can’t cook.
“The smell in the corridor is disgusting.”
Paul claimed there had been problems for more than a year.
A spokesperson for Gateshead Housing Company said they were aware of the complaints.
The spokesperson said: “We have been dealing with the concerns Mr Furey has reported.
“We recently contacted Mr Furey to update him on the issues and to confirm that last week an environmental health officer visited the block.
“This visit did not conclude there were any public health risks.
“We will continue to regularly visit Mr Furey’s neighbour and keep in touch with Mr Furey in order to provide support and advice on this issue.”
- Kirsty King also complained about Gateshead Housing Company.
She claimed her home in Gateshead was damp and, with a baby on the way, she was worried it was not a good place for the new arrival.
She said: “The condition of my property is a disgrace and it is thick with mould.
“The passage as I walk in has a soaked floor and there is a cupboard in the bathroom with soaking pipes.
They may not be able to sort the flat before my baby’s here and I have tried everything I can to move.”
The spokesperson for the housing company said: “We visited on request of the customer and completed a full inspection.
“The recommendation was that further investigations would be required by a building surveyor.
“Following this visit any required works will be arranged and the customer kept informed.”
And there was more good news when Kirsty was told she would be getting a new home.
She said she hoped the new tenant would not have to put up with the conditions she had.
- Cerise Valentine, from Easington, told me how her boiler was off for a week.
But two attempts to fix it by agents for her private landlord met with failure.
She said: “It started at the weekend when I could not get in touch with them.
“A repair was done but few days later it was freezing and there was water all over the kitchen bench from a leak.
“That was fixed but it happened again.”
A spokeswoman for the agents - My Property Box of Darlington - said the boiler was hard to fix because parts were needed and it was not a common make.
The parts arrived and the boiler was repaired a day after we spoke to the company.