'Our son died in our Loughborough council home - now we just want to move somewhere else'

When Steven Hill and Jamie Branston's son Xander died in their home the couple decided they wanted to move away from the Loughborough property.

They redoubled their requests for five-bedroom council house in which they could live together with the six children in their care.

But they have now been told by Charnwood Borough Council that they do not fit the criteria for an alternative property.

Prior to the birth, Mr Hill and Ms Branston had been living apart and wanted to move in together.

But there wasn't enough room in either Ms Branston's council house in Loughborough or Mr Hill's in Hamilton.

And with another child on the way they began to search for a five-bedroom property to fit their family.

Jamie, 30, gave birth to Xander, on April 9 last year and took him to her home in Loughborough.

But a month later the little boy passed away from natural causes in the four-bedroom council house.

After his death, neither of the couple could stand to spend any more time in the house, saying the memories caused too much pain.

"It's been so difficult to go back to that house," said Mr Hill, who is a former builder.

"The first time I went back it took me 20 minutes to get the key in the door.

"When I went in his dummy was still there, so was his blanket - it was just there on the sofa."

'We've all been through so much'

The couple say Xander's death gave them more reason to move away.

But the hurt from their loss meant that a possible move soon after Xander's death fell by the wayside whilst they dealt with their grief.

Instead, Ms Branston, who is now heavily pregnant, moved into her disabled mother's two-bedroom bungalow with her five children and has been living there since.

Mr Hill and his one child have remained living at the council house he shares with his brother in Hamilton.

And he says that he is desperate to bring his family together.

For this reason, a couple of months after Xander's death the two recommenced the search for a five-bedroom house.

But Mr Hill, 42, says they were denied by Charnwood Borough Council.

"They said they wouldn't let us have a new house because we didn't fit their criteria, because we weren't fleeing a war-torn country or domestic abuse," he told LeicestershireLive.

"We've all been through so much, some of the kids have had counselling and so have I."

The couple's situation was complicated further when Mr Hill went back to Loughborough to find the property had been broken into and the television taken.

"The whole house had been rummaged, what else can happen to us?", he said.

"The house has now been empty for about a year.

"If the council hadn't dragged their heels on this someone in need of a house could have moved there and we would have our own place.

"We just feel so let down and disappointed. If it doesn't rain, it pours on us; we just want to be together," he added.

The couple said they have only recently been given priority banding to find a home.

However they are struggling to find a five bedroom-family to fit their family.

'Many applicants are not housed as quickly as they would wish'

A spokesperson for Charnwood Borough Council explained the process behind applying for a council house.

He said that applications for council homes or transfers are placed into different bandings according to need: “The system has recently changed but up until the end of March, applications were placed into four bands; low, medium, high and priority.

"Each applicant was assessed and placed into the most appropriate banding."

From April 1 applicants are now placed into three bandings - one, two and three.

"Band one is for applicants who have an emergency level of housing need, two is for applicants with a high level of housing need and three for applicants who have a housing need," added the spokesperson. "A review process is also still in place.

"As at March 31, there were 2,814 applicants on the register, all with varying levels of need and different family circumstances.

"The allocations system is designed to give priority to those in the greatest need, and this means that many applicants are not housed as quickly as they would wish.

“The housing needs team would be pleased to provide further advice or assistance to any individual applicants if required.”