A WOMAN accused of antisocial behaviour at her mother's sheltered housing has vowed to fight an injunction which bars her from the premises.
Erika Riddell said she, along with her daughter and dog, had to move in to her 74-year-old mother's bedsit, because she needed to provide 24-hour care.
But Sanctuary Housing, the company which runs the sheltered accommodation at Shaftesbury House in South Norwood where Erika's mother Barbara Williams lived, said the bedsit was overcrowded and the family were causing a nuisance to other residents.
On one occasion, Ms Riddell's daughter is said to have put their dog into a tumble dryer.
Sanctuary were granted an antisocial behaviour injunction against Ms Riddell at Croydon County Court last Friday, which forced her to leave the flat the following Monday.
"The whole idea of mum, who uses a wheelchair, moving there was to regain her independence, it was a step forward," explained Ms Riddell.
"But due to her health I had no choice but to move in, my mother couldn't use the commode, get to the kitchen or wash herself," she said.
Ms Riddell added that she had spent so much time caring for her mother, who has kidney cancer, diabetes and blood clots around the heart, she was forced to neglect her own South Norwood home to the point it is no longer suitable to live in.
She is now staying with her brother in north London and has "no idea" what she'll do when her daughter has to go back to school in South Norwood next month.
A Sanctuary spokeswoman said they ended Ms Williams' tenancy because of the overcrowding, and discovering she had moved to a retirement home some months ago, while Ms Riddell continued to occupy the flat.
She also described the family's occupation of the bedsit as "a very real health risk" and "completely inappropriate" for the retirement flats.
The spokeswoman said: "Despite repeated requests, Ms Williams' daughter continued to live in the property, including when her mother was not at home. Following numerous complaints from neighbours, we took the difficult decision to apply for an antisocial behaviour injunction.
"We would not have taken these steps if it were not for the extreme nature of the situation, but we have a duty to protect our residents and needed to take account of the full effect that Ms Riddell, her daughter and her dog were having across the scheme."
According to a witness statement, given by scheme manager Kim Carim to the court last week on behalf of Sanctuary, Ms Riddell's daughter Hannah, 5, tried to put their dog into a communal dryer.
Other residents reported being disturbed by the dog's barking and one was nearly knocked down by her daughter riding a bike in a corridor.
But Ms Riddell said there had been no such antisocial behaviour and neighbours had been fine with her living there.
Though the injunction technically prevents her from going near the property, the Sanctuary spokeswoman said they would be happy for Ms Riddell to return to collect her belongings, which she had been unable to take with her.
Ms Riddell said she is planning to mount a legal challenge to get the injunction lifted.
