Hounslow Council has been fined £1,500 after failing to rapidly move a mother and her children in danger of domestic abuse.

The woman, whose identity is protected, contacted the council in April last year in fear of violence from her ex-partner. She told the council he had recently made fresh threats against her and asked to be moved higher up the council's housing register.

She was forced to contact the council in May when, having not heard anything from the officer assigned to her case, her ex-partner assaulted one of her children.

The woman was forced to leave her home and sofa surf at a friend's house along with her youngest child, while her other children were separated and stayed with different family and friends.

According to a report by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman into the case, Hounslow Council told the mum, referred to as Miss X, that they could not consider her homeless as she had a home to go to, and that there was no immediate risk to her and her children at the property.

The council said they fitted new locks to windows at the property and, following her request to move to emergency accommodation, offered her several options for somewhere to stay.

Reporting the woman's description of some of the temporary accommodation offered to her by the council, the ombudsman wrote: "Miss X says this accommodation was in an extremely poor state such that she did not feel it was safe for her young baby.

"She said the room had a strong smell of urine and the carpet and beds were sticky and stained."

Hounslow disputed that the accommodation it offered was uninhabitable. The ombudsman wrote that eventually, a social worker for one of the children intervened and wrote to the council saying the child had missed school exams because of the trauma of their assault, and that the ex-partner knew where the family lived.

Miss X and her children were eventually moved into a new home in August 2021, four months after she first turned to the council for help.

The ombudsman found the council at fault for saying Miss X was not homeless and that she should have been provided accommodation in April.

Hounslow Council was ordered to pay her £300 for every month she spent sofa surfing and an additional £300 for the trouble caused. The ombudsman also ordered the council to apologise to Miss X in writing, saying that the family's experience was an "injustice".

A spokesperson for Hounslow Council said: "We would like to apologise unreservedly to the complainant regarding this case and the distress caused to her. We have taken onboard the ombudsman's recommendations and we are identifying ways we can improve our services for vulnerable residents.

The Council's 'My Independence' homelessness service, which prevented 3,000 Hounslow residents becoming homeless last year, will continue to support residents in the borough."