Family-of-five’s ‘nightmare’ as they sleep on hotel floor with kids bitten by bed bugs – The Mirror

A homeless family-of-five from Birmingham have been left crammed into a hotel room where nails are protruding from beds and towels are used as curtains

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Homeless mum reveals state of cramped city hotel room

A homeless family-of-five have been crammed into a hotel room where children are bitten by bed bugs and nails protrude from beds.

They say they've been left to sleep on the floor of the temporary accommodation in Birmingham after being booted out of their privately rented home at short notice.

Sarah and Mohammed, who have three young children, have been forced to hang towels from windows as makeshift curtains, wash dirty dishes in the bath and use pillows as a mattress for their toddler.

In footage taken inside the room two beds can be seen crammed into the room with exposed broken slats and a mattress on the floor.

Mum Sarah claims other families in the hotel have been living there for four months and she can't get any information out of Birmingham City Council, BirminghamLive reports.

The shocking state of their "nightmare" temporary accommodation was revealed amid the cost of living crisis.

The couple, whose children are aged one, seven and 12, were made homeless when the landlord of their private rented home in Hodge Hill told them he needed the property back.

They were already "left with nothing" when paying the 800 rent per month, even though 650 was subsided by Birmingham City Council.

They say rents have risen to around 900 and their only option is to live in temporary accommodation.

The family were moved into The Birmingham Hotel, in Sparkbrook, by the city council last week.

The authority has since apologised for the "distress" and vowed to look at other options to accommodate the family.

Sarah said: "It's totally wrong. I can't even breathe in here. Since last week I am homeless with my three kids and a partner.

"Last week we had our landlord come into the private rented house as the two month notice had expired, he asked us for the keys.

"The council put us into a hotel. The first day when we came here the bed was broken, there were no curtains and no lighting in the room. There was only one double bed for the five of us."

The couple had to then send their kids to Walsall, where extended family live, to stay for the night while arrangements were made.

The room was "pitch black"' when the couple returned and the large bathroom light remains broken.

A cot and bunk bed were crammed into the room.

But the mum, who says there was no mattress in the cot, decided to place three pillows down for her youngest child.

She says her children are going to school itchy due to the bed bug bites and the double bed has "fallen apart and has nails hanging off it".

Her children have been struggling to sleep as they are now all in one room while her one-year-old wakes often in the night.

They have been unable to go to school as a result.

With no cooking facilities either, the family have been surviving off sandwiches, cereal, noodles and meals made in the microwave and with a toaster she brought from her former home.

The family has been given food bank vouchers from the school, but fear with half term they may have to sacrifice some meals so the children can eat.

The mum claims neighbours also living in temporary accommodation have been in the hotel for as long as four months waiting to move.

She said: "I've tried to ring the council. Every time I ring the emergency contact they say 'somebody will call you back', but they never do."

The mum even spent an entire day at the council's Options Centre in Newtown, but claims she had no luck there either.

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After being contacted by BirminghamLive a spokesman for the authority said they had replaced the bed and a pest control officer had visited.

A statement read: "We are sorry for the distress caused to this family.

"We have replaced the bed and a pest control officer has carried out an inspection of the room.

"The room has been treated and we will continue to monitor it so standards are maintained.

"We are working with the tenant to address the other issues in the article and looking at options for accommodating her family."

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Family-of-five's 'nightmare' as they sleep on hotel floor with kids bitten by bed bugs - The Mirror