Family-of-six say council house 'too dangerous' for autistic daughter to live in: 'We've seen cleaner public toilets'

Carl and Laura Tranham were put in temporary accommodation after they were forced to leave a privately rented home

Carl and Laura with Anthony, 14, Vinnie, 10, Harvey, 9 and Roxy, 7

A family-of-six say they have seen "cleaner public toilets" than their council house.

Carl and Laura Tranham were put in 'unsanitary' temporary accommodation after they were forced to leave a privately rented home when their landlord sold the property due to poor health.

And they say the property is "too dangerous" for their seven-year-old autistic daughter to live in.

Carl, 34, is a full time carer for his seven-year-old daughter Roxy who has the mental age of a three-year-old.

He has three sons Anthony, 14, Vinnie, 10, and Harvey, nine.

Carl told Kent Live: "We're concerned for the safety of our daughter.

"The boys are older and have common sense but Roxy has no understanding of danger.

"The brakes on the windows are broken and close with a huge amount of force, there was only a bolt lock on the door which she can undo and there is rubbish everywhere outside.

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"There was a packet of pills on the ground outside when we got here.

"Roxy only moved in on Sunday as it was too unsanitary to bring her in before.

"I've seen cleaner public toilets."

Roxy's three brothers have also found the moves difficult and Mr Tranham said the youngest two have been "quite emotional".

They were given a home in November which Mr Tranham says was eventually made safe over the four months they stayed there.

Carl says the windows aren't safe for the children - particularly Roxy 

But on Monday last week they received a call to say they had until Tuesday morning to move out and in to this new home as the council had another family waiting to move in.

Bob Porter, head of housing at Thanet District Council, said: "We take the safety and wellbeing of its residents extremely seriously.

"The council has been able to arrange self-contained emergency accommodation of a suitable size since the household became homeless.

"The council has worked hard to ensure that the family remains in the Thanet district and to avoid placing them in shared accommodation.

The family claim there is rubbish dumped outside the council home

"Our emergency accommodation is managed by Paramount Independent Properties whose staff are Housing, Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) trained and therefore these standards are applied.

"An inventory and 'walk through' is conducted with new tenants when they sign up.

"This gives them the opportunity to identify areas that they are not satisfied with. During the sign up for the family's current accommodation, a couple of areas of concern were highlighted and were resolved within 48-hours of being reported."

Laura Tranham, 37, who is not working due to health reasons, is desperate for help to find stability for her family and says the stress is getting too much for her daughter.

She said: "Roxy keeps having meltdowns, she can't cope with all the change.

"We couldn't afford the deposit or the rent for another private property so asked for help. We were made homeless through no fault of her own but the council keep saying we can't help you."