A 50-YEAR-OLD woman says she is "terrified" to go to sleep at night as she fears subsidence will cause her house to collapse.

Jackie Birch, of Oakley Drive, New Eltham, claims she has put up with the problem for three-and-a-half years and is "disgusted" with housing association, London and Quadrant (L&Q), for failing to fix it.

Mrs Birch, who suffers from arthritis, said: "It's cold. I have my central heating on but it goes out of all the cracks. It's costing me a fortune.

"I would rather live in a shed at the moment than live in there. It's absolutely freezing and they just don't give a monkeys."

Mrs Birch says L&Q told her she would be put in to temporary accommodation in January but is still waiting to move.

The mother-of-three said: "I feel the house is going to collapse on me. I'm not getting any sleep because I'm worried. I'm there on my own at the moment, its terrifying.

"Since all this I have been on anti-depressants. It's getting to the stage where I really hate the house."

Mrs Birch's 17-year-old son, Zach, has temporarily moved into his sister's home to escape the freezing conditions.

An L&Q spokesman said: "We would like to apologise to Mrs Birch for the inconvenience caused by the subsidence at her home and for the lengthy delay in resolving this issue.

"After extensive investigation we identified tree roots from a nearby railway embankment owned by Network Rail as the cause.

"We have presented our evidence to them but have yet to hear back and this has unfortunately caused a lengthy delay.

"We have been in contact with Mrs Birch to discuss the underpinning of her home and are currently examining options with her for suitable alternative accommodation."