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An East London council has been ordered to pay a resident £5,400 after it took more than three years to fix a mould and damp issue and failed to update them on repairs.

Newham Council told the resident to clean the mould and damp themselves and took too long to carry out repairs and arrange temporary accommodation, a report by the Housing Ombudsman found.

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The housing watchdog found significant failings against the council and said the resident had been left to live among damp and mould for 'an unreasonable amount of time'.

Over the course of more than three years, the resident contacted and chased the council multiple times and asked to be kept updated on repairs however it had failed to do this.

While the council did fix a leak within a year of it first being reported, the damp and mould problem continued to wreak havoc in the tenant's home and was affecting the light fittings and the area around the fuse box. According to the resident, the council wouldn't carry out specific works on the damp and mould and instead told him to clean it himself.

The ombudsman report noted: "Whilst the resident continued to complain about damp and mould, the [council] continued to fail in updating him on what was happening with his home and actions that could be taken to fix it."

Two years after first reporting the issue to the council, the resident had asked to be moved into temporary accommodation because his home smelt strongly of damp and believed a rat infestation was infiltrating his home because of the mould problem.

Having only been in temporary accommodation for a few weeks, the council told the resident the repairs were finished and he could move back however when he returned he believed the repairs were below standard.

After the ombudsman investigated the resident's complaint, the council was ordered to apologise to the resident and pay £5,400 in compensation which included some of the rent during the period of service failure.

Richard Blakeway, the Housing Ombudsman, said: "There were significant failings throughout this case which left the resident living with damp and mould for an unreasonable amount of time. On multiple occasions throughout the course of the complaint, a lack of proactive action and poor communication, both with the resident and internally, contributed to significant delays."

Mr Blakeway said the council took too long to arrange temporary accommodation and took ages to respond to the resident about his damaged belongings. He added: "Despite repeated issues with communications from its repairs team, the landlord did not change its approach and take ownership of the resolution of the issues.

"I welcome the landlord’s response to the lessons from this report and its extensive efforts to put in place a stronger and more proactive approach to addressing damp and mould." Newham Council said in a statement: "Our priority is providing safe, decent homes for our residents and dealing with any issues brought to our attention swiftly, effectively and with compassion. We apologise unreservedly for failing to meet our high standards in this instance.

"We fully accept the ombudsman’s findings and have acted on each of the orders made. We have also found alternative accommodation for the household involved and will continue to work with them to find a suitable permanent solution." The council went on to say that it has taken a "well-established, proactive approach" when tackling mould and damp issues across the borough and that it has invested in a "dedicated" mould and damp task-force.

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London drivers with non-compliant cars may be able to avoid the £12.50 ULEZ fine initially. Transport for London (TfL) may decide to issue warning letters rather than a penalty charge notice (PCN) initially.

It comes as the AA said it is 'essential' that drivers are not fined 'until the system beds in' across the new ULEZ areas. From August 29, ULEZ will be expanded from the North and South Circular roads to cover the whole of Greater London.

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People who drive in the zone in a vehicle that does not meet minimum emissions standards are required to pay a £12.50 daily fee within three days. Failure to pay can lead to a PCN of £180, reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days.

TfL has sent out warning letters already

TfL has sent letters about the expansion to the owners of non-compliant vehicles previously detected by cameras in the new ULEZ area. But some affected drivers may drive in the zone without knowing they are required to pay a fee, such as those from outside London who do not drive in regularly.

There are fears that the refusal by some neighbouring counties to allow TfL to put up signage on roads approaching the new ULEZ area could also lead to people entering it by mistake.

TfL said in a statement: “TfL reserves the right to use discretion to issue a warning notice instead of a penalty charge notice. However, we would advise anyone driving a non-compliant vehicle in the zone to pay the charge to avoid the risk of being fined.”

How to pay the ULEZ charge

There are various methods of paying the ULEZ charge, including online, over the phone, through an app or by signing up to an automatic payment system.

AA president Edmund King said: “It is essential that TfL sends out warning letters to drivers not complying with the ULEZ until the system beds in.

“We know that there is a widespread lack of signage outside the current zone in areas such as Hertfordshire, so fining drivers who don’t even know they are in the zone would backfire.

“Drivers need fair warning of when they are about to enter the Ulez or when they are on a road that will take them into the zone if they stay on it.

“If TfL do not send out warnings they will be deluged with complaints from drivers.

“If they turn down appeals to have fines cancelled, huge numbers will take their complaints to the traffic penalties tribunal.”

On the day that Birmingham’s emissions-based charging scheme was introduced in June 2021, the city’s council announced that the £8 daily fees for non-compliant vehicles would not need to be paid for the first two weeks as part of a 'soft launch'.

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The Blackwall Tunnel in East London has been closed this afternoon following a serious crash involving a motorbike on the northbound side.

The A102 has been closed at the mouth of the tunnel exit to the A12 / A13 with queues forming as a result.

According to travel tracker Inrix the crash happened at the Poplar exit of the tunnel at around 11.30am this morning.

As a result congestion is building to the A2 at Blackheath, at the Sun in the Sands. Onlookers are also queueing on the A12 from Bromley by Bow, and the A13 queueing into town from Leamouth Road.

Traffic is being diverted onto the A13, where there are also delays after a 'drunk driver' crashed into a broken down car earlier this morning.

MyLondon has reached out to the Met Police for more information on the incident.

Did you see what happened? Get in touch at dan.wiggins@reachplc.com

For more live updates on this story follow our blog below.

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Former EastEnders actor Jack Ryder has shared a strange post about his former co-star Natalie Cassidy on Instagram. The former actor starred as Jamie Mitchell in EastEnders from 1998 until 2002, during which time he had a close relationship with Cassidy's character Sonia Fowler.

The 41-year old posted a throwback image of his character Jamie kissing Sonia during a scene on EastEnders. He captioned the post: "To this day she is still my greatest and favourite co-star. Thank you for the memories @natcass1."

Many EastEnders fans couldn't help but take to the comments section to react to the post. One follower exclaimed: "Aww really do miss Jamie, such a brilliant partnership Jamie and Sonia loves young dream the UK's answer to Jack and Rose xx."

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A second commented: "I miss this. You two were one of the best couples on @bbceastenders. You've done so much since leaving EE." A third typed: "Best Eastenders days! Where do the years go! Still devastated they killed Jamie off!"

A fourth said: "To this day I still have major hatred towards Martin and Spencer for running you over when all you were doing was minding your own business & going about your evening buying flowers for Sonia."

During his last scenes on Albert Square, Jamie Mitchell was killed off when he was involved in a car accident. Since moving on from acting he is now an established film and theatre director and published his first children's book in 2020.

After his exit, Jack Ryder married soap star Kim Marsh in August 2002 but later divorced in 2008. He recently welcomed a daughter in 2021 with his long-term partner Ella, and he spends his time between London and France.

Do you have a story you think we should be covering? If so, please email whatson@mylondon.news or alexandra.bullard@reachplc.com.

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Christmas is pretty much around the corner now that August is slowly coming to an end. With that in mind, Boots have decided to drop their highly anticipated Liz Earle advent calendar and beauty lovers are set to go crazy for this.

The 12 Days of Liz Earle Beauty Advent Calendar is priced at £75, where you will be treated to 12 different items ranging from luxury miniatures to full-sized products all from Liz Earle.

However, the big takeaway is that the advent calendar is worth a whopping £174.50. It's packed with plenty of beauty favourites and it is the perfect Christmas countdown for botanical skincare lovers.

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The product description at Boots says: "Embark on a journey of botanical beauty discovery this festive season with our much-coveted advent calendar, featuring 12 carefully chosen beauty surprises to delight your skin and your senses.

"Unwrap and discover both full-sizes and luxury miniatures, as you discover some of our most-loved formulas with a collection that helps leave skin feeling nourished and looking radiant."

Here is a full list of what you can expect to be included:

• Cleanse & Polish™ Hot Cloth Cleanser 30ml
• Cleanse & Glow™ Transforming Gel Cleanser 150ml
• Smooth & Glow™ Exfoliating Tonic 50ml
• Orange Flower Botanical Body Wash 200ml
• Orange Flower Hand Repair 50ml
• Instant Boost™ Skin Tonic 50ml
• Eyebright™ Soothing Eye Lotion 50ml
• Superskin™ Alt-Retinol Booster 15ml
• Skin Repair™ Hydrating Night Cream 15ml
• Skin Repair™ Light Cream 15ml
• Warm Cedarwood & Frankincense Hand Cream 50ml
• Hydrating Cream Mask 75ml
• 1 Pure Cotton Cloth

Another advent calendar that has made a comeback this year is the Sephora UK Beauty Advent Calendar. Sephora debuted their first ever beauty calendar in 2022, and it was a total knock out of the park. So much so, it was completely sold out.

If you missed out on last year, fear not. Sephora UK have just announced that you can now sign up to be on the waiting list and get first priority access when the beauty calendar hits the shelves.

The Liz Earle advent calendar is now on sale at Boots and you can buy it here. To sign up for the Sephora UK calendar waitlist, click here.

Do you have a shopping story you think we should be covering? If so, please email whatson@mylondon.news or alexandra.bullard@reachplc.com

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Met Office weather experts have said that thunderstorms in the capital are set to possibly cause a "danger to life". Predictions also suggest that the adverse conditions could delays to train services, dangerous driving conditions and road closures and flooding of homes and businesses 'cutting communities off'.

The yellow warning covers this evening and tomorrow morning (Friday, August 18 and Saturday, August 19). Londoners have been told to prepare for potentially hazardous, rain, lightning strikes and hail between 8pm until 5am in the city, as well as areas further north in East Anglia and nearer the south coast.

A spokesperson for the weather service said: "There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes or hail. There is a small chance of fast-flowing or deep floodwater causing danger to life.

READ MORE: Full list of all planned London Underground, rail and bus weekend changes for August 19 and 20

"Where flooding or lightning strikes occur, there is a chance of delays and some cancellations to train and bus services. Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures

"There is a small chance that some communities become temporarily cut off by flooded roads. There is a slight chance that power cuts could occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost."

Residents have been advised to keep a close eye on weather updates and travel disruptions, and to plan any necessary journeys. In addition, those whose property may be at risk from flooding have been urged to prepare a flood plan and an emergency flood kit.

Further advice on the Met Office's website reads: "It's never too late to take action and prepare for flooding. Follow these 6 simple steps to protect your home or business.

1. Check the flood advice in your area to know when and where flooding will happen
2. Charge mobile phone devices
3. Park your car outside the flood zone
4. Prepare a flood kit to help you cope in the event of flooding to your home and business
5. Store valuables up high, including electrical devices, important documents and furniture
6. Turn off gas water and electricity supplies

"If you are trapped in a building by floodwater, follow these simple instructions to keep you and your family safe:

• Go to the highest level in the building you are in
• Do not go into attic spaces to avoid being trapped by rising water
• Only go to a roof if necessary
• Call 999 and wait for help"

Experts also describe what to do when driving. Advice reads: "It is safer not to drive in thunderstorms but if you must drive you can do this more safely by:

• Slowing down
• Using main roads
• Using dipped headlights
• Giving yourself more time to react on slippery surfaces
• Keeping a bigger gap between vehicles"

The BBC too is predicting stormy weather in London but at slightly different times. The broadcaster's weather page suggests adverse conditions will hit the capital at 9pm this evening and last until 1am on Saturday.

Throughout, temperatures will remain at 20 or 21 degrees celsius, it adds.

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