A HEREFORDSHIRE mother-of-four facing eviction says her children are panicking and her life is in limbo because housing association officers will not tell her where in the county she is likely to housed.

Whitestone resident Katy Bow has to move out of her privately-rented home by June after a chimney fire three weeks ago made the property unsafe.

She has contacted housing association Home Point about her future needs, but they are unable to tell her where she will live – the most likely outcome, initially, will be temporary accommodation. Ms Bow’s two youngest daughters have speech difficulties and attend the nearby Whithington Primary School.

Teachers there are concerned about the impact moving homes several times would have on her children.

She said: “The housing association have told us we will probably have to go into temporary accommodation.

“My nine-year-old is really panicking about having to move schools twice which is what’s going to happen if we go into temporary accommodation.

“They aren’t going to tell us until the day we go. They won’t tell us anything, so I can’t do anything about the schools until the last minute.

“I understand there are not many houses available, but the school is quite worried about the effect it will have on my daughter.”

Ms Bow says she was given an eviction notice after she told her current landlords she wasn’t happy with using the fireplace after the recent fire.

She said: “It was quite a bad fire. It took the firefighters more than an hour to put out. “They told us not to use the fire until it is properly fixed. “I wasn’t happy with using it when the fire brigade had told me that it was a danger with all the carbon monoxide leaking through.

“Four days later I was given an eviction notice to get out.” Ms Bow is currently still living in her privately-rented Whitestone home but has to go to a friend’s house to bath the children and keep warm.

She added: “We have limited hot water.

“The bathroom is cold and they don’t want a shower because it’s so cold.

“We go to my friend’s house most of the day just to warm up and then go home.”

A Herefordshire Council spokesperson speaking on behalf of Home Point said they work with all families that are homeless or are threatened with homelessness.

She said: “The Housing and Homelessness law ensures that all vulnerable households and those with dependent children are considered to be a priority need.

“In these cases, Herefordshire Council has a statutory duty to provide accommodation in the event of them becoming homeless.

“There is a limited amount of housing stock available to the council for temporary accommodation and while every effort is made to accommodate in the area of choice, this is not always possible.

“The first available property suitable for their use will be offered on an emergency basis and if possible, as soon as more suitable accommodation is available, the household will be offered a move.

“In some circumstances a move may not be possible, and the household will remain in the accommodation until a permanent solution is found. “The housing solutions team work with all households, assisting them to be proactive in seeking to secure permanent housing.

This can be through the choice based letting scheme for social housing or securing private rented accommodation with assistance through the councils rent/bond scheme, which can give more choice in terms of location.”