A mother and her two young sons have been living with a gaping hole in their roof for nine months - leaving them freezing cold and unable to sleep.

Desperate Natasha Tomlinson has reached out to Orbit Housing - which manages the top-floor flat in Manston Way, Margate - several times since the problem first arose in February.

Despite three visits from contractors, the issue has still not been fixed and is becoming worse as temperatures drop, with the wet and windy weather proving particularly troublesome.

The hole, which has also spread into the communal hallway of the building, has caused leaks in the corridor with the heavy rain over the last few days.

Miss Tomlinson - whose children are aged seven and nine - says the issue is affecting the health of her and her youngest son.

"He has a bad chest and uses an asthma pump due to allergies," the 29-year-old said.

"He has had to use it a lot more since this happened. He also had a sickness bug not long ago - usually his temperature would rise, but it was so cold in the flat it dropped to 34.5C."

The hole exposes Miss Tomlinson's loft to the elements and leaves insulation and material flapping in the wind.

She first noticed it back February and reported it straight away. She says it was quite small at first, but was soon ripped wide open by Storm Eunice later the same month.

"It's now gone into the hallway loft, and the neighbours' loft too." she said.

"They haven't even moved in yet. They only just got the keys."

Miss Tomlinson says with energy prices rising, she has struggled to keep her home warm.

"I've had to blast the heating and wrap both the boys up - it's getting expensive," she said.

Miss Tomlinson's own health has also been affected, both mentally and physically.

She suffers from anxiety, which has become worse because of sleep deprivation caused by the noise from the wind blowing through the hole.

"There's banging above our bedroom - it is so loud in the wind," she said.

"Me and my youngest can't sleep."

Miss Tomlinson also has suspected fibromyalgia, a condition that causes widespread pain and extreme tiredness.

"I get stiff muscles and it takes me a while to get out of bed - the cold makes it worse," she said.

When first approached by KentOnline, Orbit Housing said the roof was repaired on May 23, with Miss Tomlinson not reporting any issues after this until November 4.

But when shown screenshots of call logs and texts confirming the problems had been reported repeatedly, the firm sent a revised statement.

"We sincerely apologise for the delay in completing the required works on the communal roof and the customers’ property," Orbit said.

"A specialist contractor has been appointed to complete the works as soon as possible."