A COUNCIL has said sorry for housing a mother and her autistic son below a neighbour from hell who threatened to stab and kill the child.

Brighton and Hove city council was wrong to put the family in unsuitable housing and it was ordered to apologise and pay the mother £1,000, an investigation found.

The neighbour had a nine-year history of noisy and antisocial behaviour, and had been handed three official warnings.

But the council told the family they would not be offered another property if they refused the flat.

The council said it was “extremely sorry” for the distress caused and promised to learn from its mistakes.

An investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman found the council at fault for placing the family in the accommodation, despite evidence from experts that the son’s severe autism meant he was particularly sound sensitive, with loud noises causing him acute stress and anxiety.

The council should have done more to investigate the problems with the flat and find more suitable housing.

The investigation also said the council should have paid back storage charge sooner and took too long answering the mother’s complaints.

Ombudsman Michael King said: “This family were caused significant stress being placed in thoroughly unsuitable accommodation by the council, and at one point they were even split up because of the neighbour’s poor behaviour."

When the mother first saw the flat she new it would not be suitable as she heard a lot of noise from upstairs.

But the council told her to accept it or she would have to move into a bed and breakfast.

The mother said the tenant upstairs swore and made a lot of noise. The flat also did not have enough room for the son’s sensory equipment.

While the family was waiting to move house, the neighbour threatened to stab her and kill her son.

Further checks showed the neighbour had been causing anti-social behaviour problems for nine years and had three anti social behaviour orders.

But the family had to endure two months in the flat before any checks were made.

The council was told to apologise and pay the mother £1,000.

It said it “fully accepted” all the ombudsman’s findings and vowed to learn from its mistakes.

Councillor Anne Meadows, chairwoman of the housing committee, said: “There is a shortage of temporary housing in the city and, while it is no excuse, there was particular pressure at the time of the complaint was made.”