A young mother and her baby who spent Christmas in a damp and squalid bedsit are to be moved to a better property.

Kerry Hoeppner, 20, and her month-old son are to be rehomed by their landlord in a one bedroom flat.

Miss Hoeppner, who is estranged from her parents, had to spend the festive period in a single, damp room in Hove with no central heating.

Brighton and Hove City Council said she was not eligible to move to one of its properties.

But her landlord has promised to move her into a flat and secure the rent via housing benefit.

The single mother recently split up from her partner of five years, the baby's father, who is a student in London.

Since her son was born on December 2, she has had to wash him in a sink or shower.

She has been heating the room with a single electric heater left on all the time.

Her bedsit is in a shared property and at the top of four flights of stairs.

The toilet and shower are so small that when Miss Hoeppner uses them, she has to leave her son on his own.

She said: "My landlord has helped me out. I am moving into a one bedroom flat next week. I am very grateful to him."

The council told The Argus last month that there were people in greater need on the housing waiting list and Miss Hoeppner was unlikely to be rehoused in social housing in the near future.