HOUSING bosses have apologised for the squalid state of a flat in Bradford that was allocated to a 77-year-old woman.

Members of Mufush Begum's family were astounded by the sights and smells that greeted them when they viewed the ground-floor property in Montague Street, Little Horton.

Her son-in-law Anzal Khan said it was infested with flies when they first went to view it in January. Then, at subsequent visits in February, the floors were sticky and there was a smell of raw sewage.

The family got the keys to the flat, which is owned by Bradford social housing group Incommunities, on February 20, before Mrs Begum moved in on February 23.

"We should not have accepted it," said Mr Khan, who said Mrs Begum had moved up from Birmingham to be closer to the family. "I sometimes blame myself for accepting it. We did because it was close to our house for her and I thought I would clean it myself.

"We shouldn't have accepted it. They let us down. I expected them to at least clean it before she moved in. I have scrubbed the floor four times and on my days off from work we have been cleaning the flat so much.

"The smell was so bad. No-one could have lived in that property - it was full of faeces inside and out. It was in a right state and had not been cleaned up properly."

Mr Khan, who is a security guard, said there were problems from when they first went to view the flat.

"We applied and they offered us it and a chance to view it," said Mr Khan. "When we went first time we could see flies on the inside of the windows. The flat was infested with flies - we felt sick.

"We didn't go in because the Incommunities worker said they did not have the keys and asked us to come back."

Three weeks later they went back to the flat and Mr Khan said the flies had gone, but that there was a stench of raw sewage.

"There were no flies and they had cleaned it up quite well - but there was a smell of faeces around the place."

Mr Khan also said there was a crack in an access ramp to the flat. Mrs Begum uses a walking stick and her family thought she was at risk of falling because of the crack.

Mr Khan said they had been trying to get Incommunities to sort it out, before approaching the Telegraph & Argus for help.

"It has given us so much stress," he said.

An Incommunities spokesman said: "We have apologised to the customer’s family for the work not completed prior to the letting of the property.

"These works have now been carried out including a repair to a small crack in the level access pathway to the house.

"Contractors have repaired a leak in the pipework in the bathroom which has caused a residual smell. This has involved re-laying flooring and work to reseal it.

"The works has been carried out in consultation with the customer and her family."