A FAMILY of six whose health is being badly hit by the state of their temporary homeless accommodation in Helensburgh have been offered a new place to live.

The ground floor tenement flat in East King Street which has been home since January to Perparin Tahirij and Lirie Hoxha and their four children – Jessica, 10, Alex, 8, three-year-old Melissa and Elvissa, who is aged one and a half – is full of damp and mould, causing the whole family to suffer respiratory problems.

The couple showed the Advertiser around their home this week, and during our visit, 29-year-old Lirie, who is expecting twins in the new year, said: “The mould is spreading everywhere in the walls, [and] going everywhere in the carpets and curtains.

“Everything smells of mould and damp. It’s really bad. It’s growing, it’s spreading.

“The kids are always playing around and they can touch everything. Already they are getting infections and eczema.

“We’ve been asking to be moved from here for a long time but the council is just ignoring everything. Doctors have written letters, and the health visitor has said to them that this property is not fit for purpose and we shouldn’t be here at all.”

Perparin, meanwhile, said that he suffered from depression and a shoulder injury, meaning he was unable to work - and that the family had had to move from their previous home in Shandon after changes to welfare rules meant they couldn't afford the rent.

“The council just told us we’re making condensation,” he said. “We open our windows when we can, but that’s not very often – and when we do it just feels like it’s moist air coming in.”

On the day we visited the family, Alex was off school with a cold and a sore throat – problems which Lirie said were caused directly by the state of the flat.

“Often I wake up feeling sick, and I think it’s mostly the smell that causes it,” she said.

“Sometimes all of us are short of breath and feeling very weak. We’ve got no energy to do anything”

We also sent our pictures of the inside of the flat to the homelessness charity Shelter Scotland, whose spokesperson agreed they looked “awful”, but said it was difficult to say more without knowing further details about the situation.

However, earlier this year the charity’s deputy director Alison Watson, speaking about the problem of child homelessness, said: “Homeless children in Scotland spending a total of almost one million days in temporary accommodation last year is a staggering statistic and is simply not good enough.

“The impact of homelessness on children can be devastating to their health and life chances, with each homeless child losing on average 55 days of schooling a year.

“To tackle Scotland’s housing crisis and help end housing-related poverty, the Scottish Government needs to commit to a major house building programme of at least 12,000 new affordable homes each year for the next five years.

“The Scottish Government also needs to develop and endorse guidance on temporary accommodation standards to ensure that stays in temporary accommodation are a positive stepping stone rather than life in limbo for all those waiting for a decent, secure and affordable home.”

An Argyll and Bute Council spokesperson said: “We provide temporary accommodation for anyone who approaches us saying they are homeless or about to become homeless

“Before a family moves into temporary accommodation, we fully inspect it and carry out any necessary repairs.

“We are fully aware of this particular case and have been actively engaging with the family.

“In an effort to come to an agreement which satisfies both parties, we have offered the family alternative accommodation.”

However, Lirie told the Advertiser the alternative property – a first-floor flat in Kirkmichael – was not suitable as it was further away from the school attended by the couple’s two oldest children, and was not easily accessible with a pushchair.