Council knew of mould at tragic Luke Brooks' home, but insist there was 'nothing significant' at inquest into his death

Council officers knew about mould at Luke Brooks' home for years before his death - but the inspector who visited the property days later insisted there was 'nothing significant'. The 27-year-old's inquest heard Oldham Ccuncil had not chased up Mr Brooks' landlords on occasions he said he would carry out repairs.

Mark Sharples, who is listed as Mr Brooks' landlord alongside his brother Alan, had been called to give evidence today (Wednesday). But after coroner Joanne Kearsley told Mr Sharples she no longer had any questions for him, he was free to leave.

That decision from the coroner followed evidence heard in court from mould expert Prof Malcolm Richardson and Dr Abdul Quader Ganjifrockwala, the pathologist who carried out Mr Brooks' post-mortem, yesterday. Dr Ganjifrockwala had previously linked the cause of Mr Brooks' death to 'heavily mould-infested accommodation'.

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But in court he said he would 'defer' that to others with 'with more experience in the area', after Prof Richardson found 'very, very little aspergillus' at the property when he was asked to test it six months after Mr Brooks' death. The mycologist also told the court aspergillus - the type of mould linked to Mr Brooks' death - did not typically grow on 'building materials', and the predominant mould found in the property was actually penicillium.

The court heard a written statement from Dr Chris Kosmidis, a specialist in infectious diseases. He said aspergillus is inhaled daily and spores are 'eliminated' by people with healthy immune systems.

He said aspergillus can cause problems for people with weaker immune systems, such as those with recent cases of