A FAMILY forced to abandon their home following a blaze have been moved out again after rain poured through the fire-damaged roof.

Paul and Wendy Cripps say that council chiefs ignored their warnings about a hole that appeared after flames ripped through a neighbouring maisonette.

The couple and their two children were forced to leave their property after a downpour and are living in a unit for the homeless.

The blaze broke out in a top-floor flat in Copse Road, Townhill Park, Southampton, on May 22 and spread along the roof.

Readers mobile phone footage of the flat fire

Mr and Mrs Cripps, together with their sons Connor, five, and Josh, three, were moved into the Jurys Inn, Southampton, while the building was inspected.

They moved back two days later and say that they alerted Southampton City Council after finding a hole in their roof.

“We told them over and over again that it wasn’t safe but they didn’t believe us,” said Mrs Cripps. “Then we had a downpour and ended up with more than two inches of water in a bucket.”

The family were moved out again and are now enduring cold and cramped conditions in a property in Vincent Road, Southampton.

Mrs Cripps added: “It’s basically just a room with four beds, plus a kitchen that’s absolutely disgusting. My kids shouldn’t be living here.”

A City Council spokesman said: “We’d like apologise to the couple for any inconvenience.

“We’ll get a housing manager to contact them and hopefully get a happy resolution to their problem as soon as possible.”