A forgotten child in the Greater Manchester flats that are full of fear

A two-year-old boy died after being exposed to damp and mould on a Greater Manchester estate. Awaab Ishak died just over a week after his second birthday.

His family had been complaining to Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) over the state of their upstairs flat for years - even before he was born. A pre-inquest review heard how Awaab's death was linked to the conditions he was living in.

Scarcely anyone knew of Awaab's death outside his family and official circles. But after the Manchester Evening News learned of the tragedy at a pre-inquest review, we went in search of his family. The journey taken, by M.E.N reporter Stephen Topping, would uncover a discomforting story of life in modern Britain - where too many families live in fear of their own homes.

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The sun drenches the Freehold estate on a hot July afternoon. Washing hangs on lines across balconies and the occasional passer-by rushes through the pebbledash-clad maze next to one of Greater Manchester's busiest roads. Chunky flies swirl in the heat outside people's homes while litter sits in the corners of stairwells.

But it's quiet. It's the third block on the Freehold estate that I've tried so far - at least 50 doors - and the vast majority of knocks have gone unanswered. Tenants I've spoken to so far have asked to remain anonymous, fearing a backlash for speaking out.

A 21-year-old woman is the first tenant happy to be named. Mariana Embolo says damp and mould at her home has been 'really bad, awful'. "Since we moved here 10 years ago we have been painting and cleaning," she tells me. "We do whatever we can but it keeps coming back."

Mariana tells me of another resident who has been really struggling with damp and mould in recent weeks. She says her mum