The council "missed opportunities" over mould concerns in the run-up to a 27-year-old man's death at his family home, an inquest has heard.
At Rochdale Coroners' Court today (August 9), the inquest into the death of Luke Brooks, at his home on Huxley Street in Oldham last year continued.
The court heard evidence from Joanne Collier, an assistant Environmental Health manager at Oldham Council.
Ms Collier was questioned by area coroner for Manchester North Joanne Kearsley on discussions over some years regarding the state of the home Mr Brooks lived in with his family.
Ms Collier confirmed that as far back as 2018, Environmental Health was aware there was evidence of damp and mould at the property.
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She was also questioned by Ms Kearsley about the presence of asbestos at the home which had been flagged up in 2021.
Ms Collier said that when the issue of asbestos was raised, there should have been an inspection and that Environmental Health should have contacted the landlord, Mark Sharples, about it.
An inspection at the house eventually took place on November 26, 2021, after the family got in touch directly with Environmental Health.
Ms Collier said that overall, there was "nothing of major concern" found at the address during the inspection, although some issues were recorded.
She said the officer who carried out the inspection "should have discussed" timeframes with the landlord regarding when the works would be completed but that did not happen.
Ms Collier said she attended the property on Huxley Street on November 1 last year, around a week after Mr Brooks' death, and said upon inspecting the address "there was nothing that was significant" enough for her to be alarmed by.
She said she did not see any mould growth near Mr Brooks' bed and that overall, she "didn't see significant levels of mould".
When questioned by Ms Kearsley whether there were missed opportunities with regards to addressing the condition of the home on Huxley Street, Ms Collier said: "I accept there have definitely been missed opportunities with regards to customer care.
"If we get contact we need to be contacting people, if we say we are going to do something, we need to do it."
The court also heard evidence from Detective Inspector Andrew Fink of Greater Manchester Police, who said he attended the home a few days after Mr Brooks' death with Environmental Health, by which point Mr Brooks' bedroom had been "extensively cleaned" and there was little evidence of mould in the room.
DI Fink also found no evidence of criminality in the bedroom.
Yesterday (August 8), the court heard evidence from consultant pathologist Dr Abdul Ganjifrockwala, who said he believed mould played a part in the death of Mr Brooks.
However, the type of mould found in Mr Brooks' lungs, aspergillus, was only present in a very small amount in the bedroom according to Professor Malcolm Richardson, an expert in mycology.
He said it was "hard to believe" aspergillus would have been growing in the house at the time of Mr Brooks' death.
Mr Brooks' family say they raised concerns over mould, damp and leaks in the home over a number of years.
The inquest continues tomorrow, when Ms Kearsley will deliver her conclusions.
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