Hundreds of people living in council homes or housing association homes are living in cramped and over-crowded conditions.

Of the 6,800 tenants in Kingston, 377 are in need of a larger home for their families, it has been revealed.

Tenants living in over-crowded or cramped conditions are those that live in homes that should have less people living there, according to the council. Rachel Coleman lives in a small one-bedroom flat in Willingham Way, Kingston, with her partner and two young children, Sophie Fox, three, and Frankie-Lee Fox, four.

She said: “My son has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and it is hard with all his moods in such a small space. There is nowhere I can put him to calm down. It is hard to discipline him.

“We are all in one room and me and my partner get no privacy. “I have been asking for a bigger place since my son was born.”

Laurie South, Labour’s unsuccessful Grove ward by-election candidate, said: “The frustration is nobody is doing anything in Kingston – the council can even put people into private landlord housing. I think it is appalling. Really at the moment the council have no plan set about for housing.”

Councillor Frances Moseley said: “We know there is a tremendous shortage of housing in Kingston. We are doing what we can to increase housing, but we all know the problem exists. “In any case of overcrowding we would love to be able to resolve all of them, but we can’t just magically put up houses.

“I am sure there is more we can do, but we are constantly looking for ways to resolve this problem.”

There are currently 8,355 people registered and waiting for housing of all types in the borough.