AN FAMILY of four is being forced to live out of cardboard boxes because their one-bedroom council flat is too cramped for furniture.SarahJane Blow and her fiancé Steven Brett have crammed a double bed, single bed and cot into their bedroom in Ipswich and say their children's quality of life is suffering because of the conditions.

AN FAMILY of four is being forced to live out of cardboard boxes because their one-bedroom council flat is too cramped for furniture.

SarahJane Blow and her fiancé Steven Brett have crammed a double bed, single bed and cot into their bedroom in Ipswich and say their children's quality of life is suffering because of the conditions.

Miss Blow said Ipswich Borough Council has even sent a letter of complaint from neighbours who are concerned about the noise the children are making but she said she cannot keep them quiet in such a small home.

She said: “I have been on the housing list for nearly eight years and now have a six-year-old daughter and 15-month-old son.

“I have been to the doctor and they say I have got mild depression and my health visitor says the place isn't suitable to live in. I am so desperate for help.

“My six-year-old has never had a garden to play in or a bedroom of her own. When my little boy wakes up it disturbs my daughter's sleep.”

Miss Blow said the family has moved from tenth to fifteenth on the council house list and they feel like they will never be rehoused.

The council claims the family is being too restrictive because they want to remain in Chantry but Miss Blow said her daughter is well settled at The Oaks Primary School and she doesn't want to have to change schools.

The family also does not have a car and would have to rely on public transport to get six-year-old Shannon to school if they moved off the estate.

A spokesman for Ipswich council said: “We are very sympathetic to this family and we know it is very difficult indeed to bring up two children in such a small flat.

“We are doing what we can to help but if they were less restrictive about where they were prepared to move to, their wait could be shortened.”

N Are you living in difficult conditions? Write to: Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or send us an e-mail to eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.