A year ago today, Chloe (not her real name) was fighting for a roof over her head after fleeing her abusive partner.

When she was offered a house in Thanet, she thought it might finally be the end of the story - until her son was taken by her ex and her bedroom ceiling collapsed in the dead of winter.

When KentOnline last spoke to her, Chloe had been declared 'not homeless' after Medway and Thanet Council decided she could technically return home - where her abuser still lived.

She said at the time: "I couldn't go back to that nightmare again. I would be exposed to the abuse again but it would be much worse."

While appealing the decision, her family was moved five times back and fourth through Kent until she ended up in temporary accommodation in Thanet.

The two bedroom was not fit for her older son - whose ADHD and mental health needs meant he needed his own room.

Finally, Chloe won her appeal and was deemed 'homeless' in July last year with an apology. She was given a final offer on privately rented flat in Thanet on August 22.

Chloe said: "I realised it was the last offer the council gave me. It was more of an acceptable property because it was in a better condition than the first one they offered. So I had no choice but to accept it."

But it wasn't long before she started to notice things were wrong. The heating barely worked, the internet connection is terrible and it took two weeks to get gas turned on - after which she found a leak. It was also another two-bedroom, so her son struggled again without his own space.

After contacting the council, a review on the property's suitability began in September which would allow her to move to another property. She has not yet heard back.

A month later, her older son was attacked by a local gang of teens. After suffering mentally from the incident, Chloe's abusive ex - who was in contact - decided her younger son was no longer safe in Thanet and refused to return him home after a visit.

Desperate to get her son back, the courts became involved and decided her younger son could not return until the property was shown to be safe.

She said: "I've got six hours a week with him but I can't even see my son because of lockdown - there's nowhere I can take him.

"I'm on antidepressants now to try and just keep myself above board because it's really a lot for me to process.

"After, what I went through with refuge and moving around so many times, I was already really rundown. One person can only take so many breaks and then they're going to crumble"

Then just before Christmas a bedroom ceiling collapsed.

After a temporary fix shortly after, repairs only began last week. This meant the family had one bedroom between them and faulty heating with a half fixed ceiling in winter for almost two months.

She said: "The bedroom is now full of damp and mould. My landlord wasn't even answering the phone.

"He didn't get back to me for two days after I told him the ceiling fell down. He asked me if I peeled the felt off the roof - I was so offended."

With a combination of terrible network connection and the restraints of lockdown, Chloe found it even more difficult to reach out for help. It was her 19-year-old daughter who had to finally pay for a Wi-Fi router as Chloe's credit score was so low from the costs of fleeing her home last year.

But there's nothing she can do until the property suitability assessment comes back from the council.

She added: "It has had a heart wrenching effect because it's out of my hands and I can't do anything.

"It feels as though the Council have zero consideration for both my sons and myself. It's like a horror story."

Unfortunately, the story of this mother of three is far from unique, according to a West Kent based abuse service.

Reports of domestic abuse rose by 3,522 last year - from 34,664 to 38,186 - with a peak of 4,035 in August last year when lockdown restrictions were at their most relaxed.

Donna Williams, independent domestic violence advisor for Look Ahead, said: "Unfortunately this is very common. Women and children are placed in unsafe accommodation whether that be remote locations with no security measures or hostels with offenders released from prison - not knowing what their history is or the risks they may pose active drug and Alcohol users and possibly sex offenders.

"Ideally the housing should have linked her with a domestic abuse service for housing support and DA support.

"The impact on Children moving this many times is huge, especially after abuse they need to feel safe and settled by living how this family have can have consequences on that child later on in life.

"Also it impacts Mum and as we know if Mum is stressed this filters down on the children and can have an impact on that person's ability to parent.

"Its should not be that a family have to move this many times after trauma nor reasonable for a council to expect a woman fleeing abuse or young children to live this way - especially a child with needs."

A Thanet council spokesman said: "Thanet District Council’s Housing Options team has continued to work very hard maintaining service levels since the first lockdown, with staff adapting how they work in order to do so.

"During the last 11 months, we have seen an increase in demand for the service due to the number of relationship and family breakdowns that have occurred. We do all we can to provide appropriate support for people in need and the Housing Team has successfully prevented almost 600 households from becoming homeless during this time.

"We refrain from commenting on individual cases however there is a national shortage of social housing which means that where we have a homeless duty under the Housing Act, the accommodation we secure may be in the private rented sector. Where a tenant is in a private sector rented property, the onus is on the property owner to undertake all repairs necessary. In the first instance any disrepair or safety issues should be reported to the landlord in writing. In the event that a landlord does not fulfil their obligations tenants may approach our Private Sector Housing team to make a complaint."

Read more: All the latest news from Thanet