Four single mothers from Carshalton have been told they will not be moved out of their temporary accommodation, despite their complaints of living with cockroaches.

The women living in Ruskin Road have been visited twice within three weeks by the council environmental health inspectors.

But although the inspectors were shown dead cockroach carcasses, they were still not persuaded the accommodation was unsuitable for the four young children who also live there.

An inspector set traps and laid poison saying he would return after four weeks to check again for signs of an infestation.

In the meantime the mothers say they have found their children who are all under two and a half years old playing among the dead cockroaches.

And they say the problem is so bad in the property that an empty room had to be taped up as cockroaches were squeezing through cracks in the door at night.

When the Comet visited the property, we found a number of dead cockroaches on the floor.

One mother, Kirsti Geleit, who has a 13-month-old son Charlie, said: "During the night the cockroaches crawl out from everywhere. We have even found them in the kids' beds at night.

"Charlie is starting to want to touch and feel everything now and I can't let him play on the floor in case he catches something or tries putting something in his mouth."

Mum Mampreet Virdie, added: "Living among cockroaches is hardly the right place to bring up a child."

Neighbourhood group manager Cliff Haynes responded on behalf of the council saying: "Environmental health has visited the property and put down traps to assess the level of infestation.

"If the officer had felt it was so bad that infants or babies should not have been at the premises they would have advised us.

"The conditions are under ongoing assessment by the council, but the problem was not considered bad enough to move the tenants out of the property."

Ward Councillor Angela Baughan, who represents Carshalton Central, was visiting the property as the Comet went to press. She added: "I'm totally disgusted to hear these women have been left this way."

November 30, 2001 12:30