A DISABLED mother who is demanding her council house be extended and fitted with a stair lift feels “neglected”.

Nicola Philpot, of Bramble Close, Chigwell, says having four children in a three bedroom house is making the place cramped.

The 33-year-old and her 71-year-old husband, Joe, moved in 2004, but now their youngest, Lily Rose, four, is forced to sleep in their bedroom.

She does not want her children Kody, 12, Thomas, 13 and Felicity, 16 to share rooms because Thomas is autistic and needs his own space.

She said: “We have asked them to extend the place because it needs a stable environment for my kids.

“We were told when we moved in that we were able to have an extension if we wanted. We won’t move because we like it here and it would be difficult for us anyway because of my health problems.

“If we were forced to move it would put too much stress on me. Obviously my little girl will be five at the end of the year and she can’t stay in my room forever.”

The family home has a bathroom, a lounge area and a kitchen and their rent is paid by housing benefits.

Kody and Thomas share a room, while Felicity has a “box” room.

She says moving house is not an option because Thomas has autism and does not deal well with change.

To make matters worse, Mrs Philpott was diagnosed with rare kidney disease, loin pain hematuria syndrome, a few years ago, which leaves her with chronic pain and means she is unable to get up the stairs.

She cannot put any weight on her left hand side so basic tasks such as walking are often agonising and painful.

But her request was turned down because Circle Housing told her she would likely move in five years anyway.

Mrs Philpott says if a stair lift was put in she would be “more than happy because it would make my life so much easier.”

She says she has had a string of problems with Circle Housing, who took over a year to fix her shower and meant that Nicola had to use a blow up chair to wash herself in the bath.

The Guardian contacted Circle Housing who said it had fixed a date to fit the stair lift, a claim Mrs Philpott denies.

A spokesman said: “Our residents’ wellbeing remains a priority to us and we apologise for the delay in reaching a final decision. It is our policy to ensure that any adaptations are the best solution for the tenant. We have given consent for the stair lift to be installed as requested and expect it to be carried out shortly.”