A WOMAN honoured by the Queen for her service to the Hereford community has hit out at the 'animals' who have made the lives of her daughter and young grand-daughters a misery.

Patricia Burnett, of Red Hill, awarded the MBE in 1997 for her work with service families, has also criticised the council's housing department for its alleged failure to transfer her loved ones out of an area where they have been victims of vandalism and abuse.

Mrs Burnett has spoken out after a week in which yet another dumped car was torched outside her daughter's Kilvert Road council flat in Newton Farm.

Official bungle

In the days following the car fire, delight at news the family would at last be transferred turned to anger for Mrs Burnett when it was discovered a housing department bungle had allocated them a flat entirely fitted out for disabled occupants.

Because of expensive modifications, the flat in Putson must be reserved for disabled tenants, meaning Mrs Burnett's daughter, Sarah Townley and her two children must stay put.

"It is time for the council to care about decent-living tenants. My daughter has written saying how she cannot sleep properly and her elder daughter still has nightmares from the previous car fire," said Mrs Burnett.

"One thing is certain. She cannot continue to live in these conditions and retain her sanity."

She said a recent surge in vandalism in Kilvert Road has left her daughter again fearing for the safety of her family in their top-floor flat.

"Eighteen months ago a group of kids were lighting fires on the stairs leading to the flats. Living alone with two babies she had no means of escape. When she complained about some of the neighbours her post-box was graffitied with the words 'snobby sl**'.

"There are so many people around there who are out of work, drug-related people and people who just don't care. They're not human beings, they're animals."

Sarah Townley has been on the housing transfer list for more than four years. The only two other opportunities she has had to move involved moving her daughter from Our Lady's school and being away from her disabled father - something she is not prepared to do.

Cllr Bob Preece of St Martin's has given his full backing to Mrs Burnett's decision to speak out.

"I've been on about this for a long time, the housing department don't seem to know what's going on.

"Virtually all the telephone calls I receive as a councillor are regarding complaints to do with housing. Local people see people coming from other parts of the country who seem to slot into the queue and are taken care of before them.

"I think it's just unfair the way they are allocated. Good honest local people don't seem to get a fair crack of the whip.

"Alleged drug users don't seem to have problems getting into accommodation and then as soon as the problems start the housing department says they can't do anything about it.

"As a councillor it's frustrating continually banging your head against a brick wall as a lot of pleasant areas become places where no-one wants to live anymore because of a problem element we can't do anything about."