A family of five say they have been left to survive crammed into a one-bedroom council flat in a block overrun by drug addicts.

Anne Attfield, her partner, and three daughters, live in a small flat in Grampian, one of three tower blocks on the Balmoral Estate along Salisbury Avenue and Balmoral Road, in Westcliff.

The towering housing block is ‘rundown’ and a hotspot for drug users who break into the building to smoke and inject drugs, according to Anne, 33.

Anne, who moved into the council flat in 2016 when she had just one child, says her pleas to the council for assistance moving to a new home with adequate space for her three children, have gone unheard.

“It’s a really bad situation,” an exasperated Anne said. “I’ve been chasing the council, the housing officer and I’ve even messaged the MP, because we have been left in a situation without adequate housing.

“The drug addicts are breaking in through the back door of the building and are doing their drugs on the stairs. They are letting their friends into the building and are verbally abusive to me and my kids.”

The mother-of-three says she and her partner simply want a home fit for the size of their family, where they can feel safe, but have been impeded by the council’s demands for ‘excessive’ paper work and medical records – some of which cost money.

“We don’t feel safe in here. With the drug addicts who are always trying to get into the block we feel scared,” she said.

“I have to turn my door buzzer off unless I know someone is coming around because the addicts buzz our door and ask to be let in saying they have lost their fob. If you don’t let them in, they hurl abuse at you.”

Anne, who suffers from mental health problems and physical issues, such as chronic back pain, says the dilapidation of the block also causes her stress.

She said: “My back is badly hurt, and our lifts are often not working which means I can’t get out of the building. And the lifts are constantly broken. They get fixed every now and then, but it just feels like a week later they will be out or order again.”

Cllr Anne Jones, cabinet member for communities and housing, said: “We do all we can to move households we are working with into suitable accommodation. Like many local authorities, the council faces an ongoing shortage of suitable, affordable properties and this makes it challenging to meet everyone’s needs right away.

“Therefore, we prioritise households based on all available information received per case and recent communication with Ms Attfield did advise on the types of documentation required to open a new application to the Homeseeker’s Register.

“Some documentation remains outstanding and an officer from our housing team will contact Ms Attfield to support her with getting this submitted successfully and then we can process her application for rehousing.”