A taxi driver say he is too scared to sleep in his home after being racially harassed at his council home since moving in three year ago.
Haileab Tesfay has been forced to sleep in his taxi after a three-year terror campaign saw him terrorised by a masked vandal in his one-bedroom flat.
The desperate council tenant has now been sleeping in sub-zero temperatures out of fear that the abuse will not end at his home in Kingstanding, Birmingham.
Mr Tesfay has revealed the extent that the disguised hooligan has gone to to make him feel unwelcome in his neighbourhood.
Shockingly, the thug has etched the words "MOVE" into his letterbox and smashed the window in his council property, report Birmingham Live.
Photos also show the handle of the front door of the property removed, and the electricity and gas metres vandalised.
Another haunting image - caught on CCTV - shows the suspected perpetrator with their face covered, before the camera itself was broken.
The cabbie has revealed he is now too nervous to sleep in the one-bed flat because of the reign of terror that has been imposed upon him from the first week he there.
Despite paying £500 a month to the council, he has been sleeping in his car to avoid the attackers .
After repeated reports to the police, Mr Tesfay says he wants to “give up”.
This is because he has been told that there is nothing officers can do because they cannot identify the attacker.
Speaking out about his worries, he said: “I think about it all the time, when I go to sleep, when I’m in the shower.
“I haven’t had any confidence, it’s a difficult life for me, I just want a solution. My union [ACORN] is helping me now, I have a little bit more confidence but I just want a solution.
“I didn’t know harassment in Birmingham until I moved to Kingstanding. They broke my door, smashed my window, smashed my gas and electric, and my car.”
Mr Tesfay says he used to live in shared accommodation in Aston, and did not experience issues there.
Following his worries, he joined the tenant’s union ACORN Birmingham. And with other members, he visited his local councillor, Barbara Dring (Labour for Oscott), at her most recent surgery where she committed to helping him.
However, the council have written to Mr Tesfay to say his request to be rehoused could not be met because his circumstances did not prove “an exceptional need to move”.
The Local Democracy Reporters' also contacted the council, and a spokesperson said they were in touch with Mr Tesfay to "discuss options including alternative accommodation".
However, Mr Tesfay says he hasn't been offered any alternative.
On Monday, ACORN members demonstrated with Mr Tesfay outside Birmingham City Council house prior to a cabinet meeting.
Matthew Bowler, member-defence coordinator at ACORN Birmingham said: "After three years of incidents, Haileab no longer feels safe enough to live in the property, surviving mostly by sleeping in their car in freezing conditions.
"Haileab has continued to pay rent to the council through fear of losing their right to a home. We demand the council takes immediate action to rehouse Haileab and provide compensation."
And a Birmingham City Council spokesperson said: "We are sorry that the tenant has had to sleep in their car due to their property being attacked.
"Any suspected racially motivated attacks should be reported to the police. Complaints about the police should be directed to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
"A housing officer has been in contact with the tenant to discuss options including alternative and temporary accommodation in line with our allocation policy."
A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: "We are aware of these matters, the last of which was reported to us in September this year, and we will be investigating any new reports of incidents we receive."
