A VULNERABLE family have been told they may have to move into a hotel after spending more than four months in emergency accommodation.

Ali Gibb, 33, Chris Norton, 42 and their three-year-old daughter were forced to leave their home in Kite Place in Findon Road, Brighton after their ceiling collapsed on December 23, 2020.

The family were placed in temporary housing in Eastbourne by Brighton and Hove City Council. However Ali, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, said the accommodation did not meet their accessibility needs.

The Argus: Ali Gibb, Chris and their daughter

After The Argus contacted the council, the family were moved to a ground floor flat at Brighton Marina but they have since been moved again to a flat on the eighth floor and are still in the dark about when they can return to their home.

Ali says she has now been told that her family may have to move into a hotel on May 5, after which time the owner of the property can “no longer” house the family.

She told The Argus: “The trust and the mental health impact, as well as the physical health impact is huge.

The Argus: Ali Gibb, Chris and their daughter

“I feel like my physical health has deteriorated. It has been an incredibly difficult time to be going through this because of the pandemic. We have felt very isolated.

“My daughter was crying the other day because she said she missed our home. It’s not good for her to have this level of upheaval and it’s not good for her to see her family going through this.

“Every time we just start to feel settled somewhere and like we can feel our anxiety levels settling down we are on the move again and it all unravels itself.”

Ali says that an indefinite hotel stay would not be suitable for her family because her cerebral palsy means she has complex needs.

She said: “A hotel without a kitchen would not be suitable because I have to eat a specialist diet.

“We’ve got more stuff here than we could have in a hotel room, so again it’s having to make choices about what to take with us without knowing how long we might be in that situation for.

“Given my family’s needs, my disability, my small child and my partner, who has autism, a hotel is just not appropriate for us.

“The council have been saying that they are continually looking for us, but it is very likely that we will end up in a hotel, which would be near the station so it would be very hilly and difficult for my wheelchair.”

Brighton and Hove City Council said it had hoped to house Ali in a holiday let but because of the “gradual lifting of Covid restrictions” they are now mainly booked up.

A spokesman said: Unfortunately the two lets we secured for Ms Gibbs were both time-limited.

“The hotel in the city we have arranged for her is wheelchair accessible. We appreciate that it is not an ideal solution, but we have not been able to source any other suitable accommodation.

“We have offered Ms Gibbs the option of providing her with an allowance for food if they wish to purchase their own, rather than eat at the hotel restaurant.

“We very much hope she and her family will be able to move back into their home in the near future.”