A bitter row has erupted between a Winchester council house tenant and housing officers, over the state of a home.

Ellen Bishop says her new house, in Dyson Drive, Abbott's Barton, was so dirty she could not live in it.

The mum-of-two claims she had to fork out over £300 to clean and decorate the place, plus paying for a babysitter while she did out the work. "It's just filthy. I wouldn't expect anyone to live in there.

"The walls are cracked and peeled-off wallpaper was all over the floor. It's the arrogance of the council to leave it like this. They just don't want to know."

She also said the bathroom sink was dangerously wobbly and feared that if her children Hope (4), or two-year-old Megan pulled it, it would fall on them.

Ms Bishop (22), a part-time cleaner in the Green Man pub in Southgate Street, previously lived in Winnall high-rise flats with her partner, Daniel Beasant (23), a county council road technician.

She said when the chance came to move into a house, she jumped at it, despite being appalled at the state of the house.

"If I didn't take it, I would have had to wait another year to even be considered for somewhere else. This was the first place I'd been offered in three years."

The couple pay £77 a week for their two-bedroom home. "When we moved out of Winnall, we had a letter to say we had to leave our flat clean and in well-maintained order. That hasn't happened here."

But a spokesman said housing officers believed Ms Bishop created some of the mess when she moved in. "The house is professionally cleaned by our contractors, Serco. When they left the house and handed over the keys to the letting people, there was no wallpaper off the wall.

"When a property is vacated, our surveyor goes in. Any damage, such as broken tiles or doors, is made good."

He said the family was given £150 to decorate the property, higher than normal because it was previously painted in "strange colours".