A homeless mum was left horrified after she discovered a "bed bug" inside a hotel room where she was told to stay with her two young children.
Sarah Tallentyre, 39, and her daughters Jasmine, 10, and Freya, nine, were asked to leave the rented property they were living in in Wallsend, as the private landlord wanted the premises back.
The trio moved out on May 5 and are currently living in hotels, provided by North Tyneside Council, until they can be given a suitable property to live in.
Sarah said they stayed at the Premier Inn at Royal Quays for one week before being moved by the local authority to the Windsor Hotel on South Parade in Whitley Bay on Friday (May 12).
After checking into their room at the Windsor Hotel, Sarah claims she found a bed bug on the mattress of the bed which she was given to sleep in and raised her concerns with staff.
She said she was initially provided with a different room but felt she could not stay at the hotel with her children. Instead, Sarah used the last of her money, and borrowed additional cash, to stay elsewhere.
She said: "I was on the phone to my sister and I noticed there was a bed bug in the bed they were expecting me to sleep in. It was right under the sheet and the mattress protector. It was disgusting.
"The whole hotel is filthy, it's rotten and it's outdated.
"They tried to say it's not a bed bug. I showed them and they just shrugged it off and said 'we'll get in touch with the manager.' I still haven't had a phone call."
Sarah and her two children have now been homeless for 11 days. She said they have not been classed as top priority for a new property by the council, despite having no roof over their heads.
They spent seven days inside the Premier Inn North Shields (Ferry Terminal) hotel before being moved to the hotel in Whitley Bay.
Sarah decided that she couldn't let her children stay at the Windsor Hotel, due to the bed bug, and used the last of her money to pay for a hotel in nearby Tynemouth over the weekend.
Sarah said: "I didn't stay at all, I moved me and the kids out. I told the man behind the desk that I was leaving.
"I spent the last of my money on a hotel for me and the kids. I went back for my clothes and they didn't inform the housekeeper there was a bed bug.
"Putting families into a hotel like that shouldn't be allowed. They (the council) should do more for families."
Sarah said she has since had to borrow money to return to the original hotel, until a new hotel can be arranged by the council.
A spokesperson for the Windsor Hotel said: "We were informed by the guests that something had been found on the mattress so the guests were moved to another room immediately – the room was then put off and treated as a precautionary measure.
"Occasionally, in any business or hotel, outside influences can cause issues, however, we take this very seriously and have strict procedures in place, the first is to put the room off, the second is to inform our Housekeeping Team of the issue and the third is to treat the room straight away as we would rather be safe than sorry – all of these procedures were followed.
"The comments about the hotel being dated are subjective but we are definitely not filthy and we do have an on-going maintenance programme whereby rooms are getting painted all the time to keep them looking fresh."
Peter Mennell, Director of Housing and Property Services at North Tyneside Council, said: "We are in contact with Ms Tallentyre to support her and help find her and her family a suitable resolution.
"We’re sorry to hear about Ms Tallentyre and her family’s experience and we will continue to work alongside the hotel to follow-up on the reports.
"Our first priority in any case is to prevent homelessness where we can. The use temporary accommodation, such as hotels or bed and breakfasts, is a last resort.
"We have recently updated our Homelessness Prevention and Rough Sleeping Strategy, which sees us invest even further in services and provision across the borough to prevent homelessness.
"While we can’t comment on individual cases, all housing applications are assessed in line with our Lettings Policy, which follows national legislation, and priority is given to assessed homeless cases."
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