Paul Southall says mushrooms are coming through the walls of his flat
06:00, 29 Apr 2025Updated 06:42, 29 Apr 2025
Paul Southall (Image: Manchester Evening News)
A pensioner says flooding issues at his one-bedroom apartment have been going on for so long mushrooms have begun sprouting from his walls.
Paul Southall says the problems at his home, in Hulme, began almost a month ago. With water initially coming in through to his bathroom.
But to the 67-year-old grandfather’s dismay, the leak then began to spread through his property. It has since spread to his kitchen, where he says it has ruined his ceiling, floor and cupboards.
Paul also claims to have been left with dirty water and mould throughout his flat. And things have become so bad that mushrooms have started growing on the walls.
Paul says fungi is growing because of the flooding (Image: Manchester Evening News)
One Manchester, who manage Meredith Court, where Paul lives, has now apologised for how long Paul lived with the problem – and yesterday (April 28) sent workers out to fix the leak, which had originated in another property.
Speaking to the M.E.N about his ordeal, Paul said: “I’m filing a bucket up everyday for the last month, the cupboards are soaked, it stinks and there’s mushrooms coming out of the wall.
“There’s gunk coming out of a pipe running all down my wall from the outside. There’s water coming in above my window in the kitchen.
“My ceilings are damaged, I just spent £175 on a new floor and that’s getting flooded, the ceilings are already bobbly and bursting.”
A former council worker, Paul has lived in Meredith Court for around 30 years. Originally from Scotland, he moved to the city for work.
Paul says the leaking started late last month (Image: Manchester Evening News)
He lives on the fourth floor of the eight storey block and he believes that the issue stems from a malfunction with the sprinkler system in the building.
The granddad told the M.E.N. that the situation has been tough to deal with mentally. “I’m frightened to leave the house because I don’t know what I’m going to come back to,” he said.
“They keep saying they’re going to come and fix it, they never come and when they do, they’ve always got an excuse.
“I don’t feel safe because of the electrics, the fuse meter has tripped a couple of times. I’m stressed out all the time and I’m not getting anywhere with this.”
One Manchester has now apologised to Paul, and say they have identified the source of the leak.
Paul says he uses buckets to leaking water (Image: Manchester Evening News)
Kelly Webb, Director of Operations, said: “We’re aware of the issue affecting our customer at Meredith Court and deeply regret the inconvenience this has caused.
“Despite our efforts to resolve this promptly through many visits and appointments, the issue continued longer than is acceptable, and we apologise for this.
“We’ve now identified the root cause of the leak and carried out the necessary repairs today (28 April). Our teams and contractors have attended to urgently clear any hazards, and we’re remaining focussed on resolving this fully and ensuring our customer feels supported and is satisfied.”