A homeless dad and his three kids were offered a damp one bedroom flat accessed through an industrial estate by a South London council.

The man, who is currently living with his children in a hotel, said he was shocked to find Lewisham Council expected his family to live in the property backing onto a chicken shop in Bellingham.

He claims a council worker initially told him he had to accept the accommodation or face having his housing support taken away.

But the council later backtracked after the man, who has asked to remain anonymous, complained and demanded a council employee inspect the flat.

The dad-of-three said: “When I came to view the flat, I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was going to be on the main road but it was down a side road on an industrial estate with a working scrap yard. There were lorries coming up and down, a burnt out car, and discarded rubbish and needles there.

“The house itself had all mould on the outside and it was damp. They’d just done a quick paint over the walls on the inside.

"There were two beds and there’s four of us so god knows where they expected us to sleep. And it was forty minutes from my two younger daughters’ school.” 

Lewisham Council said it was ‘sorry’ that the flat initially offered to the dad didn’t meet acceptable standards and said he had since accepted alternative accommodation found by the local authority. 

A council spokesperson added: “Due to the emergency nature of temporary accommodation bookings, it is not always possible for the council to inspect these properties in person prior to the offer.

"The council does carry out a desktop health and safety check and, on this occasion, we did visit the property after [the] complaint. We will be meeting with the accommodation provider and will not offer this accommodation until areas of concern are resolved.

“Along with all London boroughs, we are facing an acute housing crisis and increasing challenges sourcing temporary accommodation.

"We are currently supporting more than 2,900 families and individuals in temporary accommodation and there are 11,000 households on our housing register waiting for permanent housing.”