A DISTRAUGHT mother says she has been told to take her children back to her insect-infested and mould-ridden flat or she will be homeless.

Mel Copper returned to her home in Glyndebourne Close, Salisbury, on January 27 to find that a leak had sprung through her ceiling from her neighbour’s flat.

Ms Copper contacted Wiltshire Council and was told that officers would visit to assess the damage but to her surprise she was only given dehumidifiers and told to return to the flat.

“The dehumidifiers are running at my expense and I am coming down on a daily basis as I am not willing to bring my children back,” she said.

“The smell is horrendous. My kitchen ceiling has gone pink from the mould and we now have an infestation of bugs.”

According to Ms Copper her 20-month-old son Riley has respiratory problems and she is worried that these will be worsened if the family returns to the flat.

“I am not willing to risk my children’s health especially as Riley has already been on a course of steroids and uses an inhaler, if I was to take him back in the flat he would be in hospital.”

The family has now been forced to sleep on a blow-up mattress and travel cots at Ms Cooper’s mother’s house and, she says, the council has not offered her alternative accommodation.

“I just want a roof over my children’s head that isn’t going to get them in hospital.”

Ms Copper says that she and her children, including 16-week-old Finley, now face being homeless if they refuse to return to the flat.

“The council said to me if I refuse to take my children back I am making myself homeless and they will have to call social services.

“They just want me to put my children back into that environment.”

Wiltshire Council said it had been working with Ms Copper to “bring her home back to normal following the leak” and will refer her to its pest control team when the family is ready to return to the flat.

A spokesman added: “Our officers have been very helpful and done all they can throughout this situation, and at no point did we say she would be homeless if she refused to return to the property.”