A YOUNG mother who says she has had to live in appalling conditions for more than eight months plans to take her landlord to court.

Kirsty Savage said her landlord has failed to carry out any repairs on the house in Loraine Walk, Newton Aycliffe, since she moved in, despite repeated requests.

The 24 year-old, who lives in the house with her four-year-old daughter, Kimberly, said the house needed several repairs when she moved in.

Since then, she said the problems have grown worse, and she now has a list of almost 25 complaints which she said she has asked to be dealt with on an almost monthly basis.

She said problems included a missing toilet seat, sockets not working and a breakdown in the heating system.

But she said the biggest problem was a leak in the downstairs toilet and sink, which has caused flooding throughout the house.

Miss Savage said the hallway is constantly soaked and the living room carpet is wet.

Water has splashed up on to the bottom of furniture, and mould has developed on walls throughout the ground floor.

Miss Savage and her daughter have to wear shoes whenever they are in the house - Kimberly has a pair of Wellington boots but has never worn them outside.

She said: "The entire house stinks because of it.

"I took the hallway carpet up because it was getting mouldy and I cannot leave anything on the floor apart from tables and chairs.

"I have told the landlords about this several times and they keep promising to do the repairs, but they have not done anything."

Miss Savage said she has suffered depression as a result, and has decided to move back to her native Gateshead.

But she is determined to take legal action against her landlords and has consulted a solicitor, who said she has a good case.

The property was sold to a company called Investment Property Management Services (IPMS) shortly after Miss Savage moved in.

But she said they are difficult to contact and fail to answer her letters.

The Northern Echo has made several attempts to contact the company but nobody was available to comment.