COUNCILLORS have expressed outrage after a terminally ill woman was moved into new award-winning housing, which has since been declared unsafe by top inspectors.

Deirdre Lodge, 62, has been put on ‘end-of-life care’ by doctors for her condition of aspergillis on the lungs.

But within two weeks of moving into Bruyns Court housing development on Derry Avenue, South Ockendon, she woke up unable to breathe and the paramedics had to be called in.

Top mould expert Jeff Charlton, who regularly appears on Sky News as an expert on air contamination and health inspection, stepped in to do an inspection and slammed the new build as a “health hazard”.

Mr Charlton found high levels of toxic mould aspergillis in the housing unit, which was only built in February this year and has won a National Award by the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Councillor Jan Baker also condemned the development as an “absolute disgrace”.

He said: “I was there at the opening and residents were thrilled, but now the truth is out. Obviously no-one was checking properly.

“The problems should have been addressed before they moved people in. I have had eight complaints from residents.

“It’s such a lovely complex, but it’s no good if it’s dangerous to your health. I’m disgusted about it all, I really am.”

Resident Mrs Lodge spent years as a mould campaigner after developing aspergillis on the lungs from a council house in South Ockendon in 2005.

The heartbroken widow added that she was looking forward to “a new start in life” after her husband, who had become her full-time carer, took his own life in despair at Deirdre’s worsening condition in February.

Mrs Lodge has now taken to sleeping on her daughter’s sofa on Kent, while another resident John Janus is sleeping in the hall of Bruyns Court.

Mrs Lodge said: “I find it absolutely abhorrent that a firm like this could be so reckless.

“The fact they have moved people into a property that according to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations is hazardous and dangerous. It’s absolutely appalling.”

Mr Janson, 78, said he had slept in dilapidated prefab housing in Nigeria, but that was preferable to staying in his room at Bruyn Court.

Mr Janson said: “I have been in some bad places, including Nigeria, but that was better than that room. I wouldn’t put an animal in there.”

Mr Charlton, who works with top building assessors Building Forensics in Beckenham, said the contamination present was governed by criminal law and the Health and Safety Executive should be notified immedi - ately.

He added: “I have been doing disaster recovery for 30 years, so I know what you can or can’t do. These lab results come from the best lab in the USA.

“Here, the moisture is inside the concrete slabs and the World Health Organisation have stated clearly you will have biological growth within 48 hours in these conditions.

“The law says under the housing health and safety rating system that mould is a Class 1 hazard as dangerous as asbestos. Saddam Hussein used mould as a weapon of mass destruction, with his Yellow Rain.

“When someone walks into a building site, they should have cleared all of the issues before the building was opened. But they haven’t.”

A spokesman for the council said: “Our investigation identified unforeseen problems with the heat recovery units used to circulate air within the homes.

“We are working with the builder, Wilmott Dixon, to address these as quickly as possible and in the meantime the tenants affected are being accommodated elsewhere.”

A spokesman for Wilmott-Dixon said they had been asked to investigate a faulty ventilation system and were looking at replacing it, but conditions were now acceptable for Mrs Lodge to return.