A mum with cancer and her four children were “cooped up” in a single room a watchdog has found.

It said Croydon Council did not act to move the family, despite acknowledging they were overcrowded.

Croydon Council has now agreed to review the service provided to homeless families in temporary housing.

It was also told to pay her at least £2,000 in compensation.

The family of five, including a baby, lived in a studio flat during the pandemic but the council did not review how suitable her accommodation was or offer them extra support.

The mum first applied to the council as homeless in 2013, at the time she didn’t have children, and in early 2021 she complained to the council that it hadn’t yet given her a permanent home and the temporary accommodation was too small for her family.

The mum was recovering from cancer meaning she was weak and had trouble getting into the flat.

They were only offered new accommodation during an investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman – she complained to the body in July 2021.

An investigation found that the overcrowding caused the woman and her children “severe stress and anxiety”, especially in the Covid-19 lockdowns.

Her eldest child had no quiet space for their online lessons which affected their education.

Ombudsman Michael King said: “In her complaint to the council, the mother shared the troubles her family faced being cooped up in a single room, especially during the Covid-19 lockdowns, with the lack of space for the children to play and do their homework. 

"The mother was also recovering from cancer which left her weak and caused her difficulty accessing her flat.

“Despite this the council did not review the suitability of the family’s temporary accommodation, or even ask for further information about the impact the living conditions were having both on the mother and her children.”

The council will pay her £300 a month for the period between January 2021 and when it made her an offer of suitable alternative accommodation.

It will pay her a further £200 to acknowledge the time and trouble in having to complain to the ombudsman and will refer her to its Children’s Services department to see what additional support it can provide for the family.

The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public.

In this case the council has agreed to review its policies and procedures for reviewing the suitability of temporary accommodation along with its policy for referrals between departments when supporting overcrowded families.

A spokesperson for Croydon Council said: “We sincerely apologise to this family, who were left in an unsuitable and overcrowded home for far too long.

"The family have now been rehoused and we are in contact to assess any further support they might require from our children’s services team.

“We fully accept the LGO’s recommendations for the council, including agreed compensation.

"We are now looking to strengthen our processes for reviewing housing suitability and sharing information across different teams as a priority.”