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Daily Record
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Zak Garner-Purkis & Liam Buckler & Chloe Burrell

Distressed mum calls council home 'unliveable' after tot falls in 2ft kitchen hole

A mum alleges that a council has moved her into an "unliveable" home after her young daughter fell into a 2ft hole in the kitchen.

The tot, who has autism and ADHD, was lucky to escape with just some scratches and bruises after falling into the rotten floorboard.

Distressed mum Fiona Wood admitted that her child, four, was fortunate to have survived the fall, stating: “She fell over the balcony and it was only because I grabbed her by a hair and swung back she didn't fall to her death.

“They're telling me to let her sleep in the sitting room where she had easy access because there was no lock key on the balcony door and she could fall over the balcony at any time.”

The mum now worries each time she hears the floor creak or make a sound as her daughter could have sliced her ankle as the floorboards are so sharp, The Mirror reports.

She added: “Even the workmen said she'd been so lucky she just didn't seriously get injured.”

Fiona admitted that on another occasion, a brick from the garden fell and bruised her leg, which she reported to the council.

Fiona Wood in her flat in east London (MyLondon/BPM)

The families council home in Havering, east London, was previously stated as "void" - which meant no tenants were allowed as expensive work was needed in order for the property to be liveable.

And reports provided by surveyors estimated the total amount of work needed to get the council home up to scratch was around £30,000.

The mum-of-two cannot understand why she was allocated the house and thinks it must have been a council "oversight".

Whilst Fiona has been in non-permanent housing for the past six years, the council home is classed as "temporary".

However, Fiona was told if she were to reject a property she would be classified as "intentionally homeless" - which would make her disqualified for any form of council housing.

Left with no other choice, the mum had little choice to accept the house in such a bad state of disrepair.

There were also other issues in the house which Fiona had reported to the council, which included an electric fireplace with a draft that left black soot on the carpet, and broken radiators in the children's room.

She reported the house has rotting floorboards upstairs, while an entire fence had collapsed in the garden.

When she reported her faulty bathroom light, Fiona said she was left in the dark for two weeks as she waited for a repair.

Fiona said: “It's absolutely disgusting. I've been put in this house that I should never have with the void on it, especially with a disabled child.”

A spokesperson for Havering Council said: “The council is currently investigating this case.”

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