Emma Jacobs had packed as many belongings as she and her three children could fit into a taxi before they were shipped off to live in a B&B.

Five months after Ms Jacobs informed Brighton and Hove City Council her landlord wanted his house back and she would soon have nowhere to live, the 38-year-old and her children were being moved to temporary accommodation.

But with just 15 minutes to go before removal men were due to take their beds from their four-bedroom home in Seville Street, Brighton, the council informed Ms Jacobs they had found the family a two-bedroom flat in Hove.

Earlier this week, the family were warned it was almost certain they would be placed in temporary bed and breakfast accommodation.

She contacted The Argus on Tuesday, fearful that within hours her family could be stuck in a B&B, possibly in Eastbourne.

Yesterday's last minute news was some compensation for the anxious mother, who warned the council her family was about to be left without a home back in March.

Her landlord wanted the house back to carry out "major refurbishments" and - with her rent having gone up just £15 a week in eight years - she was unable to afford another home in the private rental market.

But, as reported in The Argus, the council told her she would not be considered for rehousing until her family was literally homeless.

In July the council had pledged to work with people to prevent them becoming homeless in the first place, saying its priority was to ensure families with children were not placed in bed and breakfast accommodation unless it was an emergency.

Speaking yesterday Ms Jacobs said: "I'm relieved we've not ended up in a B&B, although it's disappointing we will have to be squashed up.

"I've been in such a state in the last few days. We didn't know what was happening until the very last minute.

"I was trying to have all our belongings sorted for 9.30am when the removal men were coming, but because I didn't know where we were going I didn't know what to take and what to leave behind."

Last night the family were beginning a new life at a flat in Norton Road, Hove - although they remain uncertain of their long term future.

Ms Jacobs - a single parent on benefits half way through a four year degree that would qualify her as a teacher - said: "I'm not optimistic about continuing my course because I have assignments due in soon, and with all the uncertainty I haven't even started them.

"It seems that because of Brighton and Hove City Council's ridiculous policies my family has been being put through undue and severe stress and, in the long term, it could ruin all possibility of us ever supporting ourselves financially."

A council spokeswoman said the Hove flat was temporary and the family would be rehoused in a three-bedroom home as soon as a suitable one became available.

She added: "We've bent over backwards to help her, ensuring she has the keys to the flat today so she can move in immediately. We're putting her possessions in storage free of charge.

"We've realised that because she has got children she needs to have something close to home and we've provided that.

"It's obviously a traumatic experience to find yourself losing your private home but we get cases like this coming in all the time. There simply aren't the homes available."