Tenants in flats across the town have told how they have been living in damp, mouldy buildings for years — and the conditions are causing health problems for people of all ages.

Dad Alan Tudor has told how his six-month-old baby daughter has had five chest infections in her short life, while disabled woman Gemma McLean’s asthmatic condition has progressively worsened, These are just a couple of many complaints made by Clydebank council tenants. They have raised their problems with West Dunbartonshire Council — but insist no effective action has been taken to remedy the dampness issues.

Structural dampness is the presence of unwanted moisture in a building. It can be the result of intrusion from outside or condensation from within the structure.

Most comes from condensation, rain penetration or rising damp. Ongoing dampness results in the growth of various fungi in wood, causing rot or mould.

This can lead to Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) — where occupants suffer from acute health effects that appear to be linked to time spent in a building, but no specific illness or cause can be identified.

The Post has received several calls from Clydebank residents in recent weeks to highlight their dampness problems. We then asked our Facebook followers if their homes were also affected — and we were inundated by comments and pictures of damp-ridden houses, with blackened walls, window ledges and floors.

The online thread resulted in 105 comments and 15 shares. Many readers blasted the housing department for the conditions of their homes and uploaded horrible images of damage caused by dampness.

One shows a the inside of a cupboard laced with thick black mould, while another shows a rotten shoe covered in green fungus due to being stored in a damp wardrobe.

We have collated several case studies of people living Clydebank, who claim they have been suffering mentally, physically and financially due to the damp conditions in their home.

Post reporter Alan Ferguson highlighted the many cases to West Dunbartonshire housing convener David McBride last Thursday.

Councillor McBride said he was unaware there were a large number of problems but admitted the reader-submitted photographs on our Facebook page showed “unacceptable” conditions.

He said: “If people have problems with the service they’re receiving they need to contact their local councillor. It hasn’t come to me, as the housing convener, that councillors are reporting increased concerns.”