A hotel used to house people facing homelessness is now under investigation following a series of complaints.

Florence Court in Cliftonville, Margate, has been the subject of claims over issues with mice, the cleanliness of the building and people trying to force their way into rooms.

And now Thanet District Council (TDC) has confirmed it is probing the concerns raised and has "started to identify alternative accommodation" for tenants.

One of those placed into the Surrey Road establishment was Leah Dawes, with her newborn and two-year-old daughters.

“The toilet kept backing up and the bedroom was grubby," she told KentOnline.

“The first night I stayed, somebody tried to come into my room.

"You could hear mice scurrying about, and I went to go to the bathroom and saw one shoot out from under the door.

"I was petrified. It was truly awful.”

Ms Dawes, 38, has since been taken out of the hotel and put into accommodation in Gravesend.

Other former tenants have rallied together on Facebook to try to highlight the issues they face in temporary housing.

The campaign is led by Alexi Price, who called police after someone allegedly tried to enter her room.

Police have confirmed they received a report of concerns "raised by an 18-year-old woman at the hotel".

An officer later attended and spoke to Ms Price. She was given safety advice and no criminal offences were identified.

Ms Price is determined to make sure TDC hears the voices of those who have shared negative experiences at the site.

She writes: “Our aim is to get the council to recognise the current problems people are having after being placed in multiple types of accommodation.

“TDC needs to be enlightened on the current issues and to start taking action to give us vulnerable people a better response.”

The reaction to the Facebook group has been positive, with a number of people contributing to the discussion on how they have been affected by housing issues.

"We have been made aware of the recent issues at Florence Court Hotel. The complaints are being investigated..."

One person, who asked not to be named, shared their views on their stay at Florence Court.

“It was horrific, one of the worst experiences of my life,” they said.

“The bedding was stained, the smell was horrendous."

The district council has forked out more than £30,000 since the start of the year for the hotel to be used as temporary accommodation.

It has been using the site to temporarily house tenants since 2015.

"We’ve started to identify alternative accommodation for the people who have been placed in temporary accommodation there...”

When asked for comment, a spokesperson for the authority said: “We have been made aware of the recent issues at Florence Court Hotel.

"The complaints are being investigated.

“In the meantime, we’ve started to identify alternative accommodation for the people who have been placed in temporary accommodation there.”

TDC bosses say those who qualify for temporary accommodation "must be in priority need".

This is defined in legislation as someone who is "significantly more vulnerable than an ordinary person that is homeless".

Households with dependent children, people fleeing domestic abuse, or anyone with severe mental or physical health issues fall into this category.

The council, which owns 3,000 properties on the Isle, previously told KentOnline that it had seen a rise in demand for social housing since April 2020, just after the first Covid lockdown.

The authority's housing options team had prevented 920 households from becoming homeless between April 2020 and this January.

Staff from Florence Court Hotel declined to comment when contacted by KentOnline.