Doctors fear for life of boy, 7, sick after filthy sewage water flooded home for years

A seven-year-old boy has been repeatedly hospitalised with severe stomach infections that a doctor warned could be life-threatening after filthy sewage flooded their London council home for seven years.

Zeeshan Hashem developed Crohn's disease and constant stomach problems after dirty water contaminated with animal faeces, thought to be from a damaged pipe in the floors above them, repeatedly poured into the family’s two-bedroom Leytonstone flat since the first Christmas they spent there in 2016.

His younger brother Imran, 4, has suffered from breathing issues since 2021 – a condition that doctors say has likely been exacerbated by the damp, mould and cold in the home, documents seen by The Independent show.

Despite repeated complaints to Waltham Forest Council, dating back to 2017, and letters from the boys’ doctors urging the council to immediately address the hygiene issues, it took six years for the family to be moved.

The boys’ father Abdul has had to call 999 on at least one occasion when blood was pouring from the four-year-old’s nose due to his breathing issues. “It was like someone was strangling him,” said the 44-year-old. “He was wheezing and his throat was closing up.”

Meanwhile, Zeeshan has had countless hospital visits over the years and is still receiving treatment, said Mr Hashem, who said his son’s health problems began when the boy drank the filthy water as he crawled on the floor as a baby. His condition means he sometimes needs to go to the toilet 20 times a day which causes regular bleeding. He has trouble sleeping, is frequently in serious pain and has a very restricted diet.

The family of six has suffered recurrent stomach infections which needed strong antibiotics to treat while they lived in the flat, which doctors said were caused by the ingestion of water infected with faecal matter.

Already living in overcrowded conditions while squeezed into the two-bedroom flat, doctors wrote to the council saying the “dire” living conditions and the health effects they were causing meant the family urgently needed re-housing.

The ordeal took a heavy mental toll on Mr Hashem, who told doctors he was having suicidal thoughts. “It’s a knife being put into my heart and twisted when I remember this,” he told The Independent.

“During the heatwave especially, the flat smelt like a sewer,” Mr Hashem said. “We called the council and asked them to move us just for the weekend – but they left us and the water just dried on the carpet. It was horrendous.”

He said he complained to the council regularly but hardly anyone listened. “They treated me very badly,” he said. “They literally left us to rot.”

Finally, last month, the council moved the family to a new home. But Mr Hashem questioned why it took so long, adding: “Why didn’t anyone pay attention?”

While they have now been moved to a larger three-bedroom home, Mr Hashem said almost all of the family’s belongings have been destroyed by water damage, damp and mould and the excessive amounts of bleach they used in an attempt to disinfect them.

The family has received no compensation, Mr Hashem said, which has led them to set up a GoFundMe page to help replace basic belongings, such as beds and kitchen utensils. “We haven’t received a penny from the council,” said Mr Hashem, adding they had also not received a formal apology.

Councillor Ahsan Khan, cabinet member for housing and regeneration at Waltham Forest Council, said: “We apologise to Mr Hashem and his family about the plumbing issues related to their former two-bedroom flat at John Walsh Tower. Although the problems affecting the flat were complicated, they should have been addressed in a much faster timeframe.

“We provided the family with a new three-bedroom home, which they moved into in June, and we are currently processing a disturbance payment to cover the costs of their move. Although we have not yet received a formal request for compensation, the first step necessary to make a claim, we will immediately consider one as soon as it is received.”