A COUPLE have made an emotional appeal to be moved from the York council flat they claim is affecting their health.

Sharon Taylor and Kevin Moon, of, Tang Hall, say their health is being affected by the state of their home.

They claim the Tuke Avenue flat, their home for nearly four years, has:

Big patches of mould in several places

Damp floorboards in the bathroom, kitchen and at the top of the stairs, caused by excessive condensation

Faulty plug sockets that spark when switched on

A poorly-patched-up hole in the wall where a central heating boiler was removed

Broken central heating that has not been fixed for several weeks.

Sharon, 23, said: "I am diabetic and asthmatic and the state of this place is making me worse. My chest is really bad at the minute.

"To top it all off, the thermostat is broken at the moment, so we haven't got any heating either and it has been freezing cold in here. You can see your breath inside the flat and sometimes it's warmer outside than in.

"We really do want to get out of here, we can't take much more of it."

Postman Kevin, 34, said the flat's condition had caused him to suffer panic attacks.

He said: "It was stressing me out that much I am getting the attacks quite regularly. It is affecting my work and I am worried if something isn't sorted out I might end up losing my job."

But a spokeswoman for City of York Council said the council had "no particular history of complaints" from Kevin and Sharon until this autumn and winter.

The council had responded to every complaint and was looking to provide equipment to tackle the condensation problems, the spokeswoman said.

She added: "On all the other issues we have registered their complaints and made appointments to visit. On each of these occasions we have turned up only to find the couple is out.

"As far as the heating is concerned our contractors visited and found they needed a new thermostat - when they turned up again, on appointment, to replace it, the couple was out.

"On the rehousing issue they are in a good position, but have already turned down one property in the area they chose. The house they have targeted at

Etty Avenue is a family house - there is no possible way they could be considered for that."

Updated: 08:58 Tuesday, February 18, 2003