A distressed mother is struggling to cope with a plague of cockroaches in her flat while caring for her sick daughter.

Shelley Moran, from Epsom, said her two-year-old daughter Isabel is waiting for surgery to remove a cyst in her liver and suffers severe stomach pain.

As well as looking after her daughter, Ms Moran said she has to contend with a cockroach infestation in their temporary accommodation, off East Street.

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Ms Moran, who sees the cockroaches daily, said: "It’s making us all ill. It’s really not nice. My daughter is waiting for major surgery and it’s not fair. I just literally want to cry."

The cockroaches, of all different shapes and sizes, are not just confined to her flat, one even found its way into the book bag of her neighbour’s child.

Ms Moran, who is on the council's housing register, said Epsom Council and Rosebery Housing Association, which owns the accommodation, have failed to deal with the problem.

A Rosebery spokesperson said: "Earlier this year Rosebery arranged for all the flats in Bankside to be treated for a cockroach infestation, but we were unable to access Ms Moran’s flat to complete this.

"The infestation was not completely eradicated from the block. We have arranged a date for this treatment with Ms Moran."

An Epsom Council spokesman said: "This is something the landlord deals with and its between them and the tenant."

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