Families are being forced to leave a block of flats just six years after they were built due to ongoing structural problems.

People living in two of five blocks of flats built by Telford Homes as part of the Queen Mary Gate development in South Woodford have long endured flooding, damp and mould.

Circle 33 blamed Telford Homes for structural problems in Edinburgh Court and the groundfloor of adjacent Excalibur Court, while the developer accused the housing association of failing on maintenance.

Now Circle 33 has told tenants they must be re-housed to enable major repair works to take place, but it is unlikely they will be moved to somewhere in the local area.

Tenant Debbie Mina’s 13-year-old son, Jake Best, had to stay away from their Edinburgh Court flat while he underwent chemotherapy for Hodgkin Lymphoma due to the conditions.

The 37-year-old mother-of-three has spoken of her anger at the way the problems have been handled and said she would not be able to afford to get her sons to school if she is moved a long distance.

Ms Mina said: "It is vile in here. I've been told it could take two years to fix."

Managing director for Circle Housing Circle 33, Neil Brown, said: "Our residents’ wellbeing is our top priority therefore we have taken the difficult but necessary steps of consulting with residents about moving out.”

For more on this story, see this week's Guardian - out Thursday