A daughter has expressed her gratitude to the Guardian after her father was moved out of a condemned house following the paper’s coverage of his plea for help.

Housing benefit recipient Edmond Allen, of Vicarage Road in Leyton, claimed the mould-infested house he shared with nine others was also home to rats and cockroaches, and feared for his safety because of exposed electrical wiring.

Waltham Forest Council originally ordered the landlord to rehouse the tenants by Thursday, April 25.

But Mr Allen looked set to spend another three months there after Waltham Forest Council extended the landlord’s deadline.

However, after the Guardian’s intervention he has now been moved into temporary accommodation.

Housing management body Ascham Homes has moved the 61-year-old into Lea Bridge East, a home for people struggling to find somewhere to live, in Lea Bridge Road, Leyton.

Mr Allen’s daughter, Chevonne Allen, said: “I’m really pleased and I’m so grateful for the Guardian’s help. He’s so relieved. He was living a nightmare in that place.

“It’s somewhere to stay until they find somewhere permanent for him but we’re pushing for the council to help find another house, he cannot go back there.”

Mr Allen said: “I cannot continue to live there. It’s terrible. There is loose wiring, rodents who make the place so unhygienic, and it is overcrowded too. It’s disgusting.

“The council surely have a responsibility to ensure people on housing benefit have a safe place to live. This is not a good place to be at all.”

The Guardian has been unable to contact the landlord, but understands the house is still occupied by up to nine other tenants, including young children.

A spokeswoman for Ascham Homes said: “Mr Allen has now been provided with temporary accommodation while his landlord remedies the poor conditions and brings the property up to the required standard.

“The council has already begun enforcement action to remedy the defects and improve the housing conditions, and will not hesitate in considering a prosecution if the landlord does not make the necessary improvements to the property.”