A PREGNANT mum says she's been left so embarrassed by the smell of her damp home that she can't invite pals over.

Sophie Smith, 17, says she sprays air freshener every day to rid her council house of the stink – and suffers "chesty coughs" caused by the stench.

She moved into the property in Dewsbury Moor, West Yorkshire, with her two children in February – but says calling in workmen repeatedly, the smell remains.

Sophie, who is expecting her third child this year, told Yorkshire Live friends have been polite about it, but says: "It's awkward."

And she fears the damp may affect the health of her two sons, aged almost two and seven months.

She said: "It's getting me down. I am always at the doctors with them as they are having chesty coughs all the time.

"I have to leave the windows open as much as possible and I keep my clothes in the kitchen otherwise they smell of damp if I keep them downstairs.

"From the first day I walked through the door on February 4 I could smell there was something wrong.

"My friends don't say anything, but it is awkward.

"It would be nice to have a sweet-smelling home I could invite them to.

"Workmen have been round plastering the area in the basement where there's a problem but the problem seems deeper rooted than that."

Sophie's mum Angela Harrison, of Gomersal, believes her daughter may have to be moved house.

She said: "Something needs to be done.

"The kids are forever getting poorly and it does smell here.

"It hits you as soon as you walk through the door.

"I think she needs to move, it's not good."

Councillor Cathy Scott said: "We are aware of the ongoing issues with damp in Ms Smith's home.

"We have been investigating this for several months now to establish the exact cause of the damp.

"Several remedial works have already taken place and detailed survey work has identified the need for specialist work which should alleviate the issue."

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