A MOTHER-of-two had to wait 18 months for Stroud District Council to fix the damp in her property despite there being a risk of exposure to asbestos.

Lisa-Marie Bevan, who has lived in Coldwell Lane, King’s Stanley since October 2009, discovered a leak in the roof and subsequent damage to the ceiling in August 2011, however it was not until May this year that SDC arranged to fix the damage.

Due to ceiling damage, Miss Bevan was also concerned that her family could have been exposed to asbestos during the 18 months.

"When I first moved into the property I was told by the council that there was some asbestos in the ceiling but unless it was damaged it was at a safe level," said Miss Bevan, who has a six-year old daughter, Ashleigh-May, and a two-year-old son, Ayden.

"This obviously all changed when the ceiling in my hallway started to crumble away because of the damp."

However, this week Stroud District Council said the asbestos in the textured ceiling coating was classed as ‘very low risk’.

"We were left in that damp for 18 months and in that time my daughter Ashleigh-May has been diagnosed with asthma and now needs to use and inhaler every day as well as needing steroid shots," said Miss Bevan.

"I just cannot believe nothing was done sooner to fix the damage to my home."

A spokesman for Stroud District Council said: "Regrettably it did take us much longer than we would have liked to go out to fix Miss Bevan’s roof and unfortunately when we did it wasn’t straightforward.

"Our initial attempts to fix the holes in the roof were unsuccessful so we ended up replacing the entire roof covering.

"Miss Bevan was concerned about damage to the asbestos in the ceiling plaster following the water damage but we advised her that that there was no cause for concern as the textured ceiling coating is classed as very low risk. This type of textured finish is commonplace in tens of thousands of homes across the country."