A FURIOUS woman claims a council has not helped her deal with an “uninhabitable” room in her flat.

Jennifer McCarthy, of Kingswood Flats, in Kingswood Street, Brighton, says her second bedroom is not up to scratch.

The 51-year-old says she has been in a five-year battle with Brighton and Hove City Council over the property, but claims nothing has been done to remedy the situation.

Jennifer is alarmed at the amount of damp in her room, with water running down the walls, holes in the floor and even bugs finding their way in.

She said: “It’s a joke.

“At first the walls started crumbling slightly.

“It started off as a small issue but the wet weather made it a lot worse.

“This has been going on for five years.

“There are walls crumbling in the bedroom and there’s a massive hole in my lounge.

“Now, as it’s getting colder, I’m getting false black widow spiders coming into the flat.

“And the spare bedroom walls are soaking wet as well.

“It’s like living in a safari park.

“The place is crumbling and nobody seems to be paying attention to me.”

Jennifer has been living in the property for ten years, and despite spending money trying to improve the flat she says she has not been able to.

She also claims there is nowhere else she can move.

She said: “I’m at my lowest ebb.

“I’ve spent my own money on this place.

“I’ve lived here for a decade.

“There is nowhere I can move to.

“I’ve seen properties in my price range that are even worse than this.”

A statement from Brighton and Hove City Council said: “We are aware there are ongoing issues of damp at the flat.

“We have made a number of repairs to the property over the summer and have another job scheduled.

“We will contact the tenant to arrange for our surveyor and a Mears supervisor to inspect the property to work out what needs to be done to resolve the problem.”