A Dereham man has been left fearing for the health of his fiance and young daughter due to mould growing in his flat.

Tomasz Kulhawik, who lives at Crown Place, off Church Street, said he had almost reached breaking point after living with the mould for more than 12 months.

He claims his complaints to Victory Homes, which manages the apartment block, have fallen on deaf ears.

Moreover, a faulty window remains screwed shut, preventing Mr Kulhawik and family from letting fresh air into their home.

Victory Homes said it was sorry for the situation, and would soon be carrying out a damp and mould assessment.

But Mr Kulhawik, who has lived at Crown Place for three years, said the saga had been a "complete nightmare".

The 37-year-old added: "The flat was alright in the beginning, but then the mould started getting out of hand so we reported it. They [Victory] said they would come out, but we didn't hear anything for months.

"When they did send out a specialist for mould, he said it was unsafe and we needed to move out. That was about eight months ago.

"We have been contacting them, but we are at the point now where we have given up."

Mr Kulhawik, who works for a homebuilder, now fears for the wellbeing of his partner, Magdalena, and two-year-old daughter, Sara.

"We are trying to stay in good health but it has started affecting us," he said.

"At work I would constantly have this taste in my mouth. I had shortness of breath, I was getting all this saliva build up in my mouth. Even my manager asked what was wrong with me."

Jay Furner, head of housing at Victory Homes, said the company endeavoured to maintain high standards of service.

She added: "We attended the home earlier this year following reports of a broken window. As we couldn’t resolve the problem at the time, we carried out a temporary fix which meant keeping it closed. We’re in the process of arranging for the window to be replaced.

"The property was built around 1980 and is part of our wide-reaching retrofit programme to bring homes up to a modern standard.

"A damp and mould assessment will be carried out on the property, and we will work with the tenant to ensure they’re happy with the work provided."