A NORTH Ayrshire mum-of-two has blasted the council for "forcing" her to accept a "mould-infested home" while her sick toddler was receiving treatment in intensive care.
Brooke Bartle felt she was being told "take the house or go to the streets" despite numerous issues with the Three Towns property.
The 29-year-old said she was given just one day to pack up her former Kilwinning residence while her one-year-old son was being treated in hospital.
A change in personal circumstances led to Brooke declaring herself homeless earlier this year.
She was twice moved between temporary accommodations, including once due to mould being found in the room of her children, which she said left them "constantly unwell".
Eventually, her family settled in Kilwinning, close to her parents and her work at a bar in the town.
However, problems arose when Brooke was offered permanent social housing in Stevenston.
Five support letters from various professionals were sent to the council advising against moving Brooke out of Kilwinning.
This was due to her reliance on childcare from her parents, the challenges of travelling to work at unsociable hours and the fact her four-year-old daughter had already undergone a primary one transition in Kilwinning.
Despite this, Brooke was told she must make the move - while sitting by her son's side in hospital.
She said: “My wee boy was in intensive care, they phoned me up and said you need to get back here, move your stuff and get out this temporary accommodation.
“I explained the situation and they were like ‘figure it out’. They actually made me leave the hospital to go an empty the house.”
Brooke eventually got to grips with the change of location, but the poor condition of the property she was given has left her in limbo once again.
She said upon entering the home, issues with mould and damp were immediately identified alongside numerous structural faults and general maintenance issues.
Brooke added: “The house itself, if it was given to me in a decent condition, it is perfect other than the location, but I’ve kind of got used to that now.
“They’ve literally given me something that an inspector has come round to see and said I should never have been moved into.
“He had four pages of notes that need to be reported as jobs - it’s not going to get done anytime soon.
“There is mould and damp everywhere, in the kitchen there are gas pipes that are loose, the ceiling is crumbling – and if you move the fireplace there’s a hole in the floor.
"They expect me to move my two kids into there, I physically cannot move them in there."
Brooke and her children are currently residing with her parents as they wait for the issues to be fixed. With other family members staying there, 10 people are now packed into the five-bedroom home.
It is a situation that Brooke feels North Ayrshire Council has forced her into.
She continued: “They just don’t care and it’s been made very obvious.
"I was given the choice of take this house or you’ve got nothing. I had no other choice but to accept this house.
“One guy I spoke to on the phone was basically like ‘either take this house or go to the streets, you're obviously not that homeless if you’re saying you can’t take this house'.
“Bear in mind, I had seen the state of it, how can you expect me to move my one-year-old and four-year-old into this house in the state it is in?”
A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “The tenant viewed the property on July 7 and was keen to move in. Extensive works were carried out on the property in preparation for her moving. The process for reporting any further repairs was explained to the tenant.
“When she received the keys for the property, the tenant did identify and report some repairs, and she was notified of the works that would be carried out and their associated timescales.
“The required remedial works have started and include plastering, skirting and flooring repairs and replacement internal doors. These works are expected to be completed within ten days.
“The external pipework will be assessed, and any works confirmed as being required will be scheduled.”
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