People who have had to seek emergency accommodation after being made homeless say they are being forced to live in a hotel where a man is alleged to have lain dead for two days and fears over a potential scabies outbreak were allegedly ignored. The Welsh Government is funding budget hotel the Castle in Merthyr Tydfil town centre to offer its more than 40 rooms to people who have found themselves unintentionally homeless in the midst of a well-documented housing crisis.
But some of those who have stayed there have claimed that the hotel is not an appropriate setting for the many vulnerable people now being housed there. One man reported “freezing” in his room because his window wouldn’t close, finding drug paraphernalia under his bed, a toilet without a seat, and a shower with no running water.
Others staying in the hotel in Castle Street also reported dirty laundry stained with blood and faeces being left in the corridor while there were fears over a scabies outbreak. One woman whose partner was a resident at the hotel caught scabies. She was so concerned her condition might affect other residents she contacted the council but she said she received no reply. WalesOnline has been shown emails she sent to Merthyr Tydfil council raising her concerns over a potential outbreak in the hotel.
