An inspector from the housing department came round and took a look at the property with a special meter and told the couple the problem was caused by condensation and that they should open the windows and air the room more often.

Jean said, “I did this, but after about a month I noticed a damp patch coming up from the skirting board so I called the council again.

“They sent another inspector, who said it wasn’t condensation, but serious rising damp. Since then, there have been two other visits and there seems to be no end in sight to the problems. It’s all up the wall and the wallpaper is black and peeling off. It has gone along the skirting board and on to the floorboards, which are now rotten.

“I suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and I’ve found I’m using my inhaler more often than I used to. I don’t know if there’s any connection, but the damp flat can’t be helping it any.

“The council told me they’re going to have to tear up the floorboards knock down and replace an entire wall, and also gut the kitchen.

“Then we were told a week ago they couldn’t start work as my housing officer was off sick. I asked why they haven’t arranged a stand in and they told me they are working on it.”

Meantime, the family remains frustrated by the lack of firm timescales regarding when repair work will be carried out and say that it threatens to ruin their Christmas.

The couple’s son James was moved to intervene from his home over 400 miles away in Milton Keynes.

He told the Tele he couldn’t believe an elderly couple could be left for so long in such awful conditions and that he feared for his mother’s health if the situation carried on any longer.

He said, “My mother has chronic bronchial problems and arthritis, and yet she is being forced to choose between sleeping in a damp bedroom or on the livingroom sofa.

“The council told them about eight weeks ago they would be put in a hotel while the work was going on, but all they’ve had since then is more useless visits.

“When I phoned the housing department this week they told me they would have to make yet another visit. We are being denied the opportunity to make concrete plans for Christmas as my parents don’t know whether they’ll be living in the house or in a hotel.

“When you look at the values on the housing department website, where they talk about providing a ‘safe and healthy environment’ for tenants, and compare it to the situation my mother and father are facing, I think it’s disgusting.”

John Stewart, chairman of the Dundee branch of the British Lung Foundation’s Breath Easy campaign to highlight the effects of COPD, and who also has experience in the building trade, said untreated damp in the house could potentially lead to complications for sufferers.

A spokesman for Dundee City Council was unable to shed any further light on when the work would be completed, and could only confirm that a housing officer had visited the couple this week.

He added, “The housing officer has explained the situation to the couple. A survey of the work that needs to be carried out has been completed and this is currently being priced.

“A decant will also be organised for the couple so the work can proceed.”