'˜Homeless' child's desperate plea for new home in Milton Keynes

Schoolgirl Cindy Kazingale wrote to the Citizen to describe how her family of eight has been living in temporary accommodation miles away for the past year.

She told how her mum lies awake crying and her dad is unable to do the school run to MK because of his work shifts.

“We’ve had to stay in different hotels in Hemel Hemstead, Northampton and Luton. There was no way to have breakfast.

“Me and my sisters had to wake up at five in the morning to go to school in a taxi with random people,” she wrote.

Cindy, who is currently living in rural Bedfordshire, told how she and her five siblings arrive at school before it opens and wait outside in the cold or rain.

“One of my sisters collapsed at school because of the stress. It was terrible.

“We feel neglected. Being homeless can happen to anyone. We are homeless because our landlord sold our house – we were there for eight years.”

Cindy added: “All night my mum can’t go to sleep because she is crying.

“I am worried about her because she is getting skinnier every day.This kind of stress makes us in fear for our mum’s life.”

Cindy’s dad Alegrace was offered a permanent house in Greenleys in MK but refused because it was “unsuitable”.

A spokesperson from MK Council, said: “We have tried hard to assist the family. Larger properties are scarce.

“We are disappointed that when we offered them a four bedroom property, they turned it down after refusing to view it.”

> The Allegraces have been ordered by the council to quit the house in Sharnbrook, unless they explain within 21 days why they refused the Greenleys house.

> Renting a house large enough to house two adults and six children in Mk would cost around £1,600 a month privately. The deposit would be thousands of pounds.

> More than 500 MK families are in temporary accommodation, costing the council over £5m a year. Every one of those families is eligible for a council house.