Inquest of man, 27, whose death was provisionally linked to mould exposure to take place this week

An inquest into the death of a 27-year-old man which is suspected of being linked to mould will take place this week. Luke Brooks died on October 25 last year.

He had been living in a private rented property on Huxley Street, Oldham, with his family for eight years prior to his death. Joanne Kearsley, senior coroner for Greater Manchester North, opened Mr Brooks' inquest at Rochdale Coroners Court on March 31.

Details of Mr Brooks' post-mortem were given at that hearing, which suggested the condition causing his death could have been linked to 'heavily-mould infested accommodation'. Ms Kearsley stressed the findings were 'provisional' prior to this week's inquest, but Mr Brooks' death could potentially be Greater Manchester's second in recent years to be linked to mould.

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The same coroner presided over the inquest of Awaab Ishak, who died aged two in December 2020 following prolonged exposure to mould at a social flat in Rochdale. His death, and a Manchester Evening Newsinvestigation into conditions at the estate he lived, sparked the campaign for Awaab's Law which recently entered the statute books.

The opening of Mr Brooks' inquest heard he suffered pneumonia which was linked to aspergillus, a type of mould, prior to his death - leading to acute respiratory distress syndrome. It was claimed that after Mr Brooks suffered 'difficulty breathing' and felt 'weak' in the days before his death, he tried to get a GP appointment before turning to the NHS 111 service.

The court heard Mr Brooks was told he had a 'viral infection' and to take ibuprofen, but he suffered breathing difficulties again on October 25 before his death. His