A WEST Somerset family of five say they have been forced to live upstairs in their home after their housing association landlord was slow to respond to alleged sewage flooding.

Former security guard Steve Ford, of Croft Court, North Croft, Williton, said LiveWest placed the family in emergency accommodation.

But, the association then wanted them to move back in despite the house not being fully cleaned and flooring still needing to be replaced.

To make matters worse, his wife Samantha is pregnant and expecting to give birth in a matter of weeks.

The couple have three children, Liam, age 15, who has a disability, Ethan, 13, and 10-month-old Björn.

Mr Ford said when they returned they found the house smelled and had mould all over it and on their belongings, and some furniture had to be thrown away, while tools and personal items were missing, which he reported to police.

He said the family requested a transfer and wanted to stay in West Somerset but LiveWest had not been helpful.

LiveWest property services director Liane Manley apologised for the family’s distress and said: “Keeping our customers safe in their homes is our priority and we arranged for the family to move into a temporary home while our specialist contractors investigated the leak and carried out a professional clean of the property.

“The home was later inspected by our senior building surveyors and Somerset Council’s environmental health team, who confirmed it was safe to occupy.

“However, we acknowledge an emergency repair should have been raised when the issue was first reported and we have changed our repairs procedures to reflect this.

“We continue to support the household, including carrying out further remedial works including new flooring, arranging waste removal, and financial support for food lost.

“We are helping the family to explore rehousing options through the local authority.”