A SINGLE mum with four young children was left with water running down her walls after builders moved into her block of flats.

Claire Dobson, 27, claims London and Quadrant housing association refused to help when she appealed to it to find a dry home for her children.

Two of her children, all aged under nine, are severely asthmatic and cannot cope with living in damp conditions.

Miss Dobson was only offered a temporary home, after she called Bexley social services herself.

She said there had been long-standing damp problems at her home in Patricia Court, Upper Wickham Lane, Welling, which the housing association was trying to resolve.

Leaks began last Thursday when the contractors stripped the asphalt from the roof of the building and water began coming into her two-bedroom flat.

She said: "There is water in the front room, the hallway and the bedrooms.

"The carpet squelches when you walk on it. The beds and the cot are soaking wet, the Christmas presents hidden in the wardrobe are ruined and the television blew up."

Despite her plight, Miss Dobson claimed she was told by the association it was a problem for its contractors.

Last Thursday, she says she had to pay £200 for a childminder to take the asthmatic children overnight while she slept with the other children in the living room.

The cost of her temporary accommodation is being met by the contractor, while London and Quadrant has said it will pay for any damage.

A company spokesman said: "We are in the process of renewing her roof and a temporary roof was fitted.

"There was some leaking but we have fitted the first layer of the new roof and supplied dehumidifiers to dry out her home. We're sorry this has happened."

But Miss Dobson is still angry, she said: "The contractor has been brilliant but London and Quadrant has done nothing for me."