Perched on the edge of a single bed in a cold and grubby box room, Kim could hear the rats as they nibbled away at her clothes.
The mother and her two young children, one who has autism, were kept awake by the alcoholic living in the room next door. They didn't dare use the shared bathroom until they knew he had passed out.
Kim, 32, who has asked to stay anonymous, presented as homeless to Manchester council in August after a family fall-out. Unable to afford a deposit on a private rental place, she had nowhere else to turn.
