A mother-of-two living in a flat with dirty toilet water leaking through its ceilings says she feels “physically sick” watching her children sleep yards from the brown puddles.

Hinna Habib noticed the water dropping onto the floors in her hallway and bathroom in May and reported it to Waltham Forest Council.

The 31-year-old has been living in the two-bedroom flat in Love Lane, Haringey, with her husband Asim, 42, and children Aisha, 10, and Abdullah, seven, since last year.

But after raising the matter with Waltham Forest, Ms Habib was told the problem should be dealt with by Haringey Council, who manage the property upstairs.

“It is dirty water and when we wipe it with tissue it’s yellow and orangey-brown,” said Ms Habib.

“It’s leaking from the toilet and shower in the flat upstairs and my husband and I are concerned about the hygiene aspect.

“It’s near my daughter’s bedroom door and she is crying to me at night saying she doesn’t want to sleep in her room because it’s so smelly.

“It makes me feel physically sick. It’s a horrid smell and it’s there all day.

“How do the council expect us to stay here and pay full rent?”

The couple have tried to reduce the smell by keeping the windows open during the day but say it has not helped the problem.

They have considered moving their children to a relative’s house nearby but say it would be too upsetting for them to be separated from their parents.

Ms Habib and her husband, who works as a cashier, say they are too afraid to switch the lights on at night, due to the dampness around the lightbulbs.

“During Ramadan we were eating late at night and we were afraid to turn on the lights because we thought we would get electrocuted,” she said.

“In the beginning we tried to make the best of it but now it’s been going on for so long and it’s really hard to deal with and it’s making me really stressed out.”

After more than a month of pleading for help, Ms Habib visited Waltham Forest Council’s housing department in Walthamstow’s Fulbourne Road on Thursday (June 21) to speak to officials.

But she claims her request for assistance was ignored and the day-long wait ended with her being escorted out of Cedar Wood House by police officers.

“Last week I went to Waltham Forest Council and I told them I don’t feel safe in this flat,” she said.

“I sat there for the whole day before being escorted out by police. My kids were crying and I felt really upset for them and I cried myself.

“We’re stuck in between the two councils and are being ignored by both.”

Cllr Louise Mitchell, cabinet member for housing at Waltham Forest Council, said: “We revisited the property on Friday 22 June and found no evidence of current water leakage, the same result as our previous inspections. There is evidence of water damage from a previous leak on the ceiling.

“The managing agents have offered to place the resident into a hotel while further investigations take place, and if a current water leak is found immediate steps will be taken to resolve the problem.”

A spokesman for Homes for Haringey, which manages the council’s properties, said it has repaired the leak in the flat upstairs but would not carry out work in Ms Habib’s flat.

He added: “The leaseholder and their insurance company are responsible for carrying out any repairs to the flat below.”