Student slams York University after finding stained mattress and freezer full of old food

Student slams poor hygiene at York University after he arrives to find a stained mattress and an iced-up freezer full of old food in his halls – saying the standard of cleanliness is ‘abhorrent’ during a pandemic

  •  Josh Dawson, 19, shared images on his Twitter account of his new halls
  • Horrors the undergraduate, from Peterborough, faced at York University included a mattress with a brown stain and a freezer full of out-of-date food 
  • The student complained to reception staff at Derwent Hall but said it wasn’t good enough when he was paying ‘£6,000’ to live there  

An undergraduate has revealed his shock after arriving at his new university halls to be greeted with a stained mattress and an iced-up freezer full of out-of-date food.   

Josh Dawson, 19, from Peterborough, shared on Twitter his disappointment at the standard of cleanliness at Derwent Hall at the University of York when he moved in this weekend. 

He posted images of a single blue-and-white-striped mattress with a sizeable brown stain on it, and a freezer where the top two shelves were packed full of ice, and the bottom shelves had food dating back to February in them. 

The student said ‘to be given a mattress like this in normal times would be disgusting, but in the Year of the Rona, this is just abhorrent.’   

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Josh Dawson, 19, from Peterborough, shared images on his Twitter account of his accommodation at Derwent Halls at the University of York, saying: ‘to be given a mattress like this in normal times would be disgusting, but in the Year of the Rona, this is just abhorrent.’

Negligent: The undergraduate slammed the University halls, which he says he's paying £6,000 to live in during his first term. Pictured: an iced-up freezer that greeted Dawson when he arrived at York University

Negligent: The undergraduate slammed the University halls, which he says he’s paying £6,000 to live in during his first term. Pictured: an iced-up freezer that greeted Dawson when he arrived at York University

He added: ‘I can only assume that Uni of York don’t care about the health and safety of their students’ and wrote that he was paying £6,000 to live in the accommodation. 

In another tweet, an unimpressed Dawson wrote: ‘They haven’t checked the rooms for hygiene and they clearly haven’t checked the kitchens either. What the f*** are they playing at?’ 

The University’s Twitter account pointed the student to his ‘College team’ to report what he’d experienced and while he said staff at the university had been helpful, he added: ‘This is negligence and I expect better, especially when I’m paying you £6k to live here.’ 

MailOnline has contacted the University of York for comment. 

Nearly 1,000 people have since liked Dawson’s tweet, with many saying the University should apologise. 

 @drpaulbuckley commented: ‘Why should the onus be on someone walking into that appalling disgrace? It should be cleaned and inspected before students walk in. Utter failure, now compounded by washing your hands of responsibility. #LancasterIsBest’ 

@planespotter1 posted: ‘Josh…whst a disgrace. As for the Uni…they should be falling over themselves to sort this out. All you hear on the radio at the moment is Uni staff harping on about how hard it all is for them….and they can’t even look after their students. YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!’  

On Friday, Manchester Metropolitan University revealed that students at two accommodation sites in the city have been instructed to self-isolate for 14 days following a spike in coronavirus cases.

Manchester Metropolitan University (pictured, Cambridge Halls) students at two accommodation sites in the city have been instructed to self-isolate for 14 days following a spike in coronavirus cases

Manchester Metropolitan University (pictured, Cambridge Halls) students at two accommodation sites in the city have been instructed to self-isolate for 14 days following a spike in coronavirus cases

The immediate measures have been introduced at the Birley campus and Cambridge Halls after 127 students tested positive, meaning about 1,700 are now shut away.

It comes as students trapped in a spate of campus Covid outbreaks have slammed universities for opening halls of residents when coronavirus means they’re studying from their rooms.

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