THIS is one of hundreds of homes left empty amid a housing crisis - and a council says it is now fit to live in.

Danielle Reast's dream came true when she was told, after a year's wait, she could move into the two-bedroom home with her children.

The house, which had been boarded up only weeks before, was one of 1,800 private or council homes vacant or abandoned in Brighton and Hove.

It has now been brought back into use by Brighton and Hove City Council but its new tenant said it was a house of horrors.

Ms Reast, 22, arrived at the house to find a catalogue of problems.

She said it was in such a poor condition it was barely fit for a family to live in.

She discovered the council house in Newick Road, Moulsecoomb, was in a state of disrepair and problems included:

No electricity.

A condemned boiler.

No gas.

Inch-wide gaps around the windows.

A hole smashed into a back cupboard door A garden full of rubbish.

Layers of chalk and dust throughout the house.

A back door that burglars had appeared to have tried to force open.

A sink hanging off the wall.

An electric cooker which she could not use because there was no electricity.

The run-down property was pictured on the front of The Argus on Thursday as one of hundreds of homes in Brighton and Hove lying empty despite a shortage of accommodation.

The Argus revealed there were 1,818 empty homes in the city, including 193 council properties.

Brighton and Hove City Council is keen to bring these properties back into circulation.

By yesterday the figure had been reduced to 189 but councillors warned that tenants should not be rushed into homes before they are brought up to a decent standard.

The council said it had carried out work to turn the property into a home fit for Ms Reast's family.

But Ms Reast said little had been done to make her home fit for her and her children.

She visited the property beforehand and was told any repairs would be completed by the time she moved in on Monday.

It was not until yesterday, after The Argus intervened, that the council and electricity firm promised to sort out the mess.

But Ms Reast said: "It was in a poor state of repair.

"The council was supposed to come and collect all the rubbish out the back. It is diabolical."

Ms Reast and her family waited a year to move from their one-bedroom flat in Findon Road, Whitehawk, and said they were given the impression that if they refused the new home they would not be offered another.

Her two-year-old son Joe and 11-month-old daughter Emily have been staying with other family members because they were cold.

Danielle's mum Trish Reast, a sewing machinist from Telscombe Cliffs, said: "I think it is disgusting."

Paul Elgood, leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Brighton and Hove City Council, said: "This is completely unacceptable.

"Residents require a certain standard of housing and the council should be leading by example."

Garry Peltzer-Dunn, Conservative group leader, said: "I find it shocking that the city council has let a property when it sounds almost uninhabitable. They should be taken to task."

Jack Hazelgrove, Brighton and Hove Labour ward councillor for Moulsecoomb, said if homes were in a bad state of repair, tenants should be given the opportunity to refuse them.

He said: "If there are things which need doing, they should be explained to the tenant.

"Some homes which are left for a while have been seriously trashed by the last tenants and usually cost thousands of pounds to repair. This sounds almost on the border line."

The council hopes to reduce the number of empty homes when it changes its housing allocation policy later this year.

Instead of asking people where they want to live, tenants will be able to look at a list of vacant buildings and put in a bid.

Coun Hazelgrove said: "Sometimes when people who said they did not want to live in an area see a particular property, they think, this isn't quite so bad'. We are hoping it will speed up the process."

A council spokesman said £10,000 was being spent on improving the home.

He said a long list of work had already been carried out but some tasks - such as replacing the boiler - had not been completed.

The garden had been cleared but by the next day it was full of rubbish again because people knew the house was empty.

The spokesman said it was up to the tenant to arrange reconnecting the electricity and that a new boiler would be installed on Wednesday.

He said: "The council has worked hard to bring the property up to a habitable standard in a small space of time.

"It is our procedure to test the boiler and gas supplies and instruct the tenant how to use them.

"We cannot test these until the tenant has moved in because the gas suppliers require a named customer before the supply can be turned on.

"The contractors will be visiting the property on Monday to clear the rubbish, fix the loose basin and window gaps.

"A council representative has spoken to the Ms Reast who confirms that the outstanding repairs are not of an urgent nature. She is happy for them to be carried out on Monday."

The electricity supply had been connected by last night.