Three children have been made to leave the home they grew up in after their mum died of Covid-19.
Milly, 16, Jenson, 13, and Evie, 10, were told a week after mum Kyra King lost her life that they'd have to say goodbye to their Cannock, West Midlands, home.
Elder sister Courtney, who is now Milly's guardian, asked to take on the Sanctuary Housing association property so her oldest sibling could continue living in the home she grew up in.
Her application was rejected over the phone, she said, leaving Jenson and Evie to move in with their dad and Milly to sleep on the sofa at Courtney's house.
Now the children are being forced to grieve the tragedy of their 49-year-old's mum's death while losing their home.
"Milly is not dealing with it well at all," Courtney told The Mirror.
"She's not sleeping and she's not eating. She's really upset at the moment.
"My mum had that house when it was built. We all grew up there.
"There's a memorial to my grandma in the garden, little things from her house dug into the ground."
Kyra was diagnosed with coronavirus on New Year's Eve last year and was bed bound four days later.
"She couldn't sleep, eat or breath," Courtney said.
On January 6 - Milly's birthday - Kyra was taken in an ambulance to hospital where she was placed on a ventilator six days later.
Twenty-two days on the mum-of-four lost her battle to the disease.
Courtney said she called Sanctuary Housing the day after her mum died to tell them the heart breaking news and to ask to take over the tenancy.
A week later she received a phone call to say that her request had been turned down.
Now Milly is sleeping on Kyra's sofa.
The eldest sibling is willing to give up the home she lives in with her boyfriend and children so Milly doesn't have to say goodbye to their home.
"It's about the children's mental health," Courtney, a support worker, said.
"We're hard workers. We pay our rent."
A spokesperson for Sanctuary Housing said: “Our thoughts are with Miss Johnson and her family following their sad loss and we appreciate how sensitive this situation is.
“We are working to fully understand the housing requirements of all the family members, so that we can ensure they are offered the right housing support for their specific needs.”
The family are campaigning to have the decision overturned. Click here to see their petition.
