A family who had their home destroyed in a flood have been made homeless after the hotel they were staying in closed.
Denise Howarth, her three children and pet dog had been staying at Travelodge Bolton Central since evacuating their home in the wake of severe flooding caused by Storm Ciara, in early February.
On Tuesday, the hotel announced it had made the decision to close due to the government advice surrounding coronavirus.
Due to the damage caused by the floods, Ms Howarth's house, in Riverside Drive, Prestolee, is still unsafe to move back into. The issue is further exacerbated by her eldest son Nathan's health problems - the 22-year-old has a rare blood disorder, has two thirds of his left lung missing and also suffers from asthma.
Ms Howarth, who works as the kitchen manager at a school and is classed as a key worker, said: "My eldest rang me at about 1pm on Tuesday to tell me we had to get out of the hotel by the next morning. I thought he was joking.
"We've put all our stuff in the house. My eldest went to his cousins, my youngest went to his dad's and Hannah has been staying with me and a friend's. We're sleeping on couches at the minute.
"My stress levels on Tuesday were off the scale and my anxiety has been horrendous.
"I'm a key worker, my eldest is high risk and already has to self-isolate for 12 weeks. If he catches it, it could be his demise."
Ms Howarth has been emailed a number of suggested properties to consider by her loss adjuster, but she says none of them are in any way suitable.
She added: "They've sent me properties in Withington and Broughton, but I've told them it's too far away.
"I'm not prepared to leave my children in a strange place while I'm so far away working so they keep telling me that specifics need to be compromised. I'm not prepared to put the well-being and safety of my children at risk. Simple as.
"They have since found two apartments in Bolton, so the location is okay but they don't allow dogs. I'm not prepared to put her in a home because last time we did that she came back with kennel cough and needed an operation."
Travelodge confirmed the Bolton hotel has closed but the hotel chain said it has kept open more than 40 hotels in key cities, including two in Manchester.
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A spokesman for Travelodge said: "Travelodge has been obliged to commence the temporary closure of its hotels in line with the instructions from the government on 24 March 2020.
"We do expect to remain open in selected critical locations across the country to support accommodation for emergency workers and other groups.
"We are reviewing daily which hotels are best positioned to support the needs that arise with the government while ensuring we comply with the new restrictions in place to protect the public."
