Mitcham: A single mother battling drug addiction claims she faced a return to a narcotics den by accepting the council flat she was offered.

Sarah Wyatt, 26, is currently living in temporary council accommodation in Wimbledon but said she was told she had no alternative but to move to a Mitcham flat where she found syringes in the stairwell and the front door hanging off.

Ms Wyatt, a regular drugs user since her teens, was in rehab until last December, and had hoped the move would be a step towards a reunion with her daughter Danielle, who is currently in her mothers care.

"Two years ago I was living in a flat in Raynes Park and my social worker told me if I didn't go into rehab I could lose my five-year-old daughter and my home," she said.

"I was told if I did my six months rehab I would be re-housed. "

"But last December when I came out I had nowhere to go. No-one at the council was prepared to listen to me."

Ms Wyatt moved to Wimbledon in May and was subsequently offered the flat in Mainwaring Court.

"I'm a former addict and turned up at the fifth floor flat to find syringes in the stairwell and the door kicked in," she said.

"It was like they were throwing me straight back into what I had been trying to escape from."

Ms Wyatt refused the offer and last week was told there would be no alternative.

Head of housing services Paul Ryrie told the Guardian: "Ms Wyatt was offered a two-bedroom flat that was assessed and approved for her medical needs."

"She did not accept the offer and the property was given to another person in need of a home.

"Offering Ms Wyatt a second property was considered but using the medical advice we received, a second offer could not be justified.

"The property we did offer would have been cleaned and repaired, where necessary, before we would have expected Ms Wyatt to move in and we regret the flat was turned down."

November 14, 2001 14:30