A housing estate made of shipping containers which was branded a ‘lawless shanty town’ is being closed down – but residents fear it will leave them homeless for Christmas.
The makeshift homes which became a magnet for knife-wielding thugs are to be torn down after council officials found they are ‘not fit for purpose’.
Now vulnerable families say they have been ordered to quit their prefabricated homes on the Marston Court estate in Ealing, west London by December 12 – and could face being kicked out onto the streets.
At least two families say they have been offered ‘unsuitable’ temporary accommodation 15 miles away in Slough, Berks.
One despairing mother told MailOnline: ‘We’re going from one nightmare to another.
The makeshift homes (pictured) which became a magnet for knife-wielding thugs are to be torn down after council officials found they are ‘not fit for purpose’
Now vulnerable families say they have been ordered to quit their prefabricated homes on the Marston Court estate in Ealing, west London by December 12 – and could face being kicked out onto the streets
One of the rooms inside the Marston Court Estate, Ealing, West London, shows the conditions
‘The council have told us they will make only one offer of putting us up in temporary accommodation somewhere else.
‘The council have said if we don’t accept their offer they will no longer have a legal responsibility to provide housing for us and we will be on our own.
‘It couldn’t have happened at a worse time. We don’t know if we will have a roof over our heads this Christmas.’
Labour-run Ealing Council are set to rubber stamp a decision to decommission the homes at a meeting on December 6.
A second estate of 60 shipping container homes in the borough is also being closed down on December 18.
It comes after MailOnline revealed how terrified families in Marston Court were living in fear after drug dealers set up a base at the estate.
Residents told how they were abandoned to their fate in the ‘favela-like’ slum made up of 34 homes built on the site of a 1970’s tower block.
The shipping containers were hailed as ‘ground breaking and innovative’ when the estate was built in 2017.
But residents told how they were paying up to £1,560-a-month to live in cramped metal boxes which are ‘not fit for human habitation’.
Families complained their mould-ridden homes were infested with cockroaches and plagued with plumbing, electrical and heating problems which left them with no hot water and foul-smelling blocked drains.
The appalling living conditions came to light when mother-of-two Paula Aleksandros staged an overnight protest at council offices after she was attacked when she confronted drug dealers operating from a laundry room on the estate.
Paula, 31, told how she sent her children to live with their father for their own safety and ended up sleeping rough as she was too afraid to go home.
Now despairing families living on the estate say they have been left facing an uncertain future.
NHS healthcare assistant Erin Martin, 31, accused the council of using ‘bullying tactics’ on residents.
The mother-of-two told MailOnline: ‘They just don’t care about us.
The management office at Marston Court which families say has now become a drug deal hub
Locals say their metal box homes which were originally built to transport goods around the world are equipped with cooking hobs and microwaves which frequently break down and do not have ovens
Families have also reported cockroach infestations and say their children’s health has suffered due to homes being mould-ridden
Families say the 34 homes are plagued with plumbing, electrical and heating problems which his left them uninhabitable
The accommodation was supposed to help society’s most vulnerable but is alleged to have let them down
Families claim Ealing Council fail to respond to complaining emails and telephone calls and have left them abandoned to their fate
Shipping containers piled alongside and on top of each other in four blocks of two and three storeys were shipped to the site
‘The council just wants to get us off their hands and make us someone else’s problem.
‘They are now trying to bully us. We’ve been told we have to be out of here by December 12.
‘I’ve been offered temporary accommodation in Slough which is about an hour’s journey away. It’s hopeless.
‘I work here and my children go to school here. It will cost me a fortune to travel back and forward. It’s too much.
‘We haven’t been given a choice. We’ve been told we will get one offer and if we refuse that’s it, we’re on our own.
‘The offer they gave me has not taken into consideration any of my circumstances. I’m just starting a new job closer to home.
‘I feel like every time I try to get a footing they pull the rug from under my feet.
‘I was put in this place nearly three years ago as emergency housing and have been on the housing register for eight years and I’m still waiting for a permanent home.
Security patrols from Ealing council arrive at Marston Court but are not enough, say locals
Drug dealers come to the estate because it is not out in the open and nobody stops them
A rat trap spotted on the estate gives a startling insight into the conditions in the London area
These are how the homes are supposed to look and suggest a calms and safe environment
This could be straight out of a top level apartment, but those seen at Marston look unlike this
The bright and airy publicity pictures do not tell the story of the estate, worried residents say
Families say living on the estate being unable to get help for all its problems is dehumanising
‘Now they want to wash their hands of the problem and palm us off on someone else.’
Louise Charles, who is training to be a teacher, lives on the estate with her two year old daughter.
Louise, 28, said: ‘When I got the letter I was happy because I can’t wait to get out of here but people are being offered places far away and outside the borough. It’s just not right.
‘It couldn’t be happening at a worse time – just before Christmas.
‘It’s really stressful. Everything is up in the air. When you have young children it is just a nightmare.
‘Most of us don’t have cars and couldn’t afford to run one anyway. This isn’t going to solve any problems. They are offering something equally as bad in a worse location.’
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