A university student says she fears for her health after having to put up with a persistent mould problem in her council flat.

Eda Kilic says she has suffered from breathing problems and allergic reactions caused by damp and mould at the flat in Gainsborough House, near the A10 in Bush Hill Park.

The 23-year-old, who studies teaching at the University of Hertfordshire, wants to have a baby with her boyfriend – but feels she can’t because of the condition of the flat.

She says she has lived in the building since 2015 – but despite complaining to Enfield Council, its housing repairs team has not been able to stop the problem from coming back again and again.

Ms Kilic said: “If you walk into my house, you can’t breathe. It smells disgusting. I can’t sleep in my bedroom.

“I want to have a baby with my boyfriend, but I can’t. They are not taking care of us.

“I’ve had to throw so much of my furniture in the bin, and even my laminated floor is coming off.

“I moved in in February 2015. The problems have always been there. You can’t get the house warm.

“I’ve had allergic reactions. I keep sneezing and coughing. I’ve had really bad stomach pains and dizziness. My studies are being affected.”

Ms Kilic said she had recently suffered a chest infection that she feared would turn into asthma.

She said the council had told her to use a storage heater to keep the flat warm, but she could not afford to keep it running long enough to deal with the problem.

“I’m a student,” Ms Kilic said. “My loan goes on my rent, council tax and electricity bill. I’ve been spending so much money on spraying and paint for the mould.”

She added that the repairs team could not stop the problem from recurring.

“They just clean the mould, put in a stain blocker and paint over it,” she said. “I’ve been doing that for five years.”

Ms Kilic said someone from the repairs team told her that the problem could not be fixed without more extensive work being carried out on the building.

She added that other people in the block are experiencing similar problems with damp and mould.

An Enfield Council spokesperson said: “Only two of the 88 flats in Gainsborough House have reported issues with damp and mould in the past 12 months, and this particular incident has been dealt with by our repairs team.

“We will however be contacting this resident directly will advise again on ventilation and heating her home.”