A FAMILY-of-three who were evicted from their home have been forced to share a blow-up bed on a living room floor after weeks of delays by the borough council.

Samantha Riley, her partner, and their daughter Rubee Sams moved out of their rented home in June when their lease ran out.

The couple turned to Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) as they had previously applied for a council house but were put on the waiting list.

Despite there being no available properties, the authority promised that within days they could move into a hostel, but after four weeks the family are still sleeping on the floor of their mother-in-law’s living room.

Samantha said: “I went up there weeks ago and when I left there was a hostel for us, which is obviously better than being homeless. They said, ‘on Monday you can go up and collect the keys’ then they said it will be another two weeks and could we stay with family members?”

Luckily Samantha’s mother-in-law Julie Sams was able to take the family in, while they looked at privately renting but that was not an option.

Samantha added: “It has been absolutely awful, my mother-in-law has been a godsend but it is taking a bit of a strain with her husband. There is a lot of strain on our relationship.”

The problem is affecting two-year-old Rubee who is said to be “unsettled.” and is scared of the her grandmother’s dog, which has to be locked up when the family are there.

Samantha said she has a good relationship with her housing officer but added: “I think the whole process is ridiculous. If they are going to promise someone that they have somewhere to stay, don’t lie.

“I think it is disgusting as they promised us we will have a hostel, we will have a room to move into.”

The family has visited the council once a week since being evicted and despite knowing her situation she has continued to receive the same response – “we will let you know.”

She said: “At the moment we are living out of suitcases and it is just a small space – we have nowhere to go. Every morning we have to move our stuff out of the way, we are living on top of each other.

“We want to move somewhere without worrying about money, in the hostel we could do a couple of months and we would have time to save money.

“We are paying for storage for all of our furniture at moment.”

A council spokesperson said: “We of course understand Ms Riley’s disappointment and frustration and will continue to do everything we can to help secure suitable accommodation for her family.

“The council works with a number of housing providers in its efforts to prevent and relieve homelessness. Regrettably there are occasions when unforeseen delays occur which are beyond the control of the local authority and its partners.

“We have been in daily contact with Ms Riley and will work with her to explore all options to try to find a solution as quickly as possible. We would urge her to contact us if she has any questions or concerns in the meantime.”