A frightened mum and her one-year-old baby are living out of a Travelodge hotel after being evacuated from their block of flats.

Feben Araya, 29, had to flee with her child when big cracks began splitting the walls of her home in Ospringe Close in Penge on Wednesday (October 10) night.

She immediately went next door to seek the help of neighbour Trevor Holyoake.

"He was very nice to us and got us and other people out," Feben said. "He could see it was a big problem and he called the fire brigade and the housing association."

Trevor gave his stranded neighbours, including a disabled pensioner, a place to stay for the night ater they were out on the street until 3am.

READ MORE - Huge crack leads to evacuation at Ospringe Close flats in Penge

Since that night the mum and daughter have been staying in a Travelodge in Croydon Road.

"It’s been so hard," Feben said. “I can’t cook and there is no microwave to heat food. It feels like a big tragedy and with a baby it is so much harder."

The mum, who had lived in the flat for six years, said she was "very upset" and hopes to move into a permanent home soon.

Trevor said the response to the emergency was "absolutely disgusting" and claims Clarion Housing did not arrive until noon the following day.

"There was no protocol in place,” he said. "I want to make sure that if anything like this happens again they can deal with it.

"If I hadn’t put the neighbours up there would have been a baby and a disabled woman out on the street all night."

He added: "When I walked across to her flat my heart shot through me. You could see through the crack to the neighbour’s home."

A spokesman for Clarion said: “Out of the four households, two have already been offered permanent alternative accommodation and are signing the tenancies for their new homes this week.

"The remaining two households continue to be treated as priority and we are identifying appropriate available properties based on their needs.

"Costs are being covered in line with our policy while the households are in temporary accommodation and each household will receive a disturbance payment to cover the costs involved in moving, such as removal van hire and disconnection of appliances."