Two women with highly-sensitive noses have been left homeless after rejecting a council flat that was close to a Lush soap factory.
Cherie Hitchens, 58, and Joanna Morrison, 63, have been living in temporary accommodation for a year.
They both have multiple disabilities including multiple chemical sensitivity, making them extremely sensitive to any chemical-type smells, DorsetLive reports.
Dorset Council said the only permanent accommodation it could offer them was a bungalow just one mile from the Lush soap factor.
Cherie and Joanna said they had no choice but to turn it down, leaving them homeless.
Cherie said: "They evicted us because we said no to one permanent bungalow in Upton.
"We said no to that because it was right next to the carriageway, there were lots of Lush smells, lots of people working for Lush - we are allergic to scented products, they make us very ill.
"Also the problem with the bungalow was they said if we didn't stay there for five years, we would have to pay for all the disabled adaptions."
In 2020, the pair had been living in Upton. They are part-time wheelchair users, with Joanna suffering from asthma and diabetes.
Cherie also suffers from spinal stenosis, Graves Disease and has recently recovered from cancer.
That year, when their council-funded home became unavailable they were moved into a hotel and from there they were moved to a temporary house for a year.
They were then offered a new bungalow, but the two friends said it was unsuitable.
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Cherie said: "We had to do an assessment, of their opinion and our opinion of why we couldn't take the bungalow in Upton. We did that. They [the council] said you should have taken it.
"We looked in Devon, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Cornwall, and Dorset obviously, to start with. They're throwing us out of Dorset.
"We can't go to places that have very well-known scented product shops and factories - we can't go near them, and they are all over the place.
"We did look at three properties out of a lot that I saw. Three of them we wanted, but one landlord said: 'no, housing benefit'.
"They believe what's on the TV - that we're all scum and we're just milking the system. We are not. It's not our fault we had these accidents - it's not our fault we have to rely on benefits. We're relying on credit cards now - I'm almost maxed out."
Cherie claims they went through the courts, but the council has stopped all forms of help.
She says they were evicted from their temporary home on January 26.
The pair are now staying in a hotel for as long as they can afford to, which they expect will be until Tuesday.
Cherie said: "They're expecting us to sofa-surf, they're expecting us to have friends and family. But they use scented products! We used to use scented products - we used to have lovely incense sticks, you know? We couldn't live there.
"[Joanna's] suffered enough. She's nearly 64 years old - she doesn't deserve this, we don't deserve this. No disabled person deserves this - the way we are being treated."
When asked what she felt needed to be done, Cherie said: "We've looked for a three-bedroom, detached bungalow, with a wet room, with a garage, no wood burners, no VOC paint, not newly refurbished, no new carpets and not near carriageways, factories or industrial estates. That's what we want.
"It's not easy - of course, we're part-time wheelchair users, and I'm going to be paralysed in a few years because of my narrowing of the spinal cord."
Cherie said: "Jo has to see the specialist, she's got another condition, and she has not been able to see them for six months. So we cannot move out of Dorset until she sees them. So we've got to stay here until February 1.
"There are other counties that offer three, four, five properties. We were only offered one. We didn't know that! They never said to us, if you don't accept it, then you are going to be on the streets."
She added that the situation has taken a toll on their mental health.
A spokesman for Dorset Council said: “The council is unable to go into detail on individual cases.
“However, there is a very clear legal procedure the council has to follow in offering residents a suitable property.
“The consequences of refusing to accept a property, which is deemed suitable, are clearly communicated in writing and verbally.
“Decisions can also be reviewed and go through the court system. The council also has an obligation to use temporary accommodation in the best way possible for all residents.”
The Mirror Online contacted Dorset Council for comment.
