A UK woman says she’s been left a prisoner in her own home for the last 12 years after it was made unsafe due to mold — and burrowing badgers.
Rae Boxley, 52, said she is forced to sleep upright on an armchair in her living room after her mold-ridden property left her suffering with breathing problems.
She has been embroiled in a bitter dispute with her local council due to the state of her home, which has ‘black slime’ on most of the furniture and attracts slugs.
Rae claims Dudley Council has done nothing to solve the issue after she estimates £10,000 ($12,548)worth of damage was caused to her belongings.
She says she can’t store her clothes in her drawers because mold spores ruin them so she now keeps all her garments in carrier bags instead.
Rae, who lives with spinal myelopathy, which leaves her at risk of fatal injury from even a gentle fall, says even her garden in a safety hazard.
As well as mold covering her walls, ceilings and bedroom, the garden is also unusable due to burrowing badgers leaving the ground hollow and uneven.
Dudley Council said it had investigated but, as badgers are protected by law, its options are “very limited”.
Rae, from Stourbridge, West Mids., said she’d been told by her counsellor her ordeal was the equivalent of “12 years of physical torture.”
Rae, who also spent a month sleeping in her car on the driveway, added: “The problems all started in 2012 and they still haven’t been fixed.
“I can’t bring anyone around here. It’s too embarrassing and I didn’t want to cause anyone breathing problems. It’s not a life, it’s just an existence.
“Inside all the floors are wet. When a builder came he took part of the floorboard up, he said the boards are going rotten.
“They’ve been wet for 12 years. Even the carpets are wet now.
“I’ve had to throw furniture away. I’ve been sleeping in the living room sitting up for six years because my bed is too wet.
“I put my head on the pillow and I could smell damp. You want to pull your skin off it itches that much.
“I’ve had to throw away sideboards and cupboards which I kept my things in so I’m keeping them in bags.
“My DFS sofa I’m having to throw away because it has mold spores. I’m unable to sleep laying down now.
“Everything has got to be replaced and I don’t know where the money is going to come from.
“I’ve debated starting a GoFundMe. But I think with everything I need to replace would cost in the region of £10,000.
“No one realizes how I’ve actually been living.
“My PTSD councillor said what I’m going through is the same as 12 years of physical torture.
“Some days I can’t speak because it’s the sinuses that are blocked. I’m waking up in the middle of the night and I’m physically panicking as I can’t get enough air into my lungs.
“I’ve got quite a few pairs of boots that are leather and they’re all ruined. There’s some clothes that are beyond washing.
“I’ve had to throw some quite expensive clothes and quilts away.
“There’s a black slimy feeling underneath the furniture. I have to keep my shoes on to go to sleep because I get that many slugs in the living room.
“Some of them are like snakes.”
Rae, a former car rental firm supervisor, said she had been left feeling suicidal after the council blamed the damp on leaking radiators.
But she reckons the main water pipe under her house has burst causing her floorboards to rot.
Rae added: “I don’t eat anything here or cook because it makes me feel sick. My mum does it for me. I shouldn’t have to do this.
“I haven’t put my Christmas tree up for eight years, it’s like putting lipstick on a pig.
“The rising damp goes a meter up the walls. There’s water coming through my gas fire now. The floorboards are wet and the carpets wet.
“Over the 12 years they haven’t listened to me. I have been saying it’s coming from underneath the floorboards.
“I’ve had to get my walls re-plastered and re-wallpapered about four or five times.
“The council man said it was because my radiators are leaking. I said what you need to do is get the main pipes surveyed. I think there’s another pipe cracked.
“I was going to take my own life, that’s how bad it went. They have destroyed my life. I want them to listen to me.
“One of the chaps from the council came in January to see if he could see any water. That was in January. It’s now May.
“It doesn’t matter how many times they re-plaster, they aren’t addressing the issue.”
Her back garden has been left ruined thanks to badgers but have told Rae its options are limited due to protection laws.
Rae said: “The outside is worse than ever. The council has told me so many lies. I haven’t been able to go outside for eight years.
“I’m taking medication now because I don’t get any sun.
“There’s no ground underneath, it’s all collapsed in. The foundations are all siding towards the back. It’s the badgers.
“They’ve tunneled so much underneath. The negligence is terrible. I could be paralysed, I’m petrified.
“If I want some fresh air I’ll sit in the car on the drive. That’s not life. I haven’t been able to hang any washing out, so my mum has to do it.
“They’ve kept me prisoner for 12 years. My anxiety is off the charts. Some days I won’t even answer the door.
“It’s turned me into someone I don’t even recognise. They’ve taken my life away from me. I could’ve had a family in this time.
“The council keeps saying that the badgers are protected. They don’t do anything.
“At one point they told me I was responsible for the upkeep of the garden. What do they expect me to do, get a digger?
“I don’t speak to the council now, they go through mum. I can’t handle it.
“I just feel like I’m banging my head against a brick wall. No one should have to live like this.
“Nobody has helped. I just want them to get the repairs done and I want it done properly. I want them to listen, I want them to understand.
“They need to pay for what they’ve done to me. I wouldn’t be able to cope with moving mentally.
“I slept in the car for a month on the drive because of all of this.”
Kathryn Jones, Dudley Council’s director for housing and communities, said: “Throughout 2023/2024 we’ve undertaken a full stock condition survey exercise across all of our housing stock to check on the condition of properties and undertake any repairs.
“We’ve been attempting to engage with the resident since November 2023 to undertake the survey and any repairs needed but unfortunately the tenant has not allowed us or our contractors access to the property.
“Our officers are continuing to try to work with the tenant to gain access and resolve these issues.”
