The mother of a severely disabled child who discovered she had a brain tumour at 10 years old has hit out at Croydon Council for not providing them with a suitable home.

Millie Garbutt, now 12, was released from hospital last week after she underwent three operations including the removal of the tumour that left her disabled.

Croydon Council has, in the last 16 months, offered Millie and her mother Emma, 42, a number of properties in the borough.

But Ms Garbutt said none of them are fit for purpose and would leave no room for her daughter’s medical equipment.

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Ms Garbutt, pictured with her daughter Millie, said the council has 'no compassion' in helping with her struggle to find a suitable home

The 12-year-old, who relies on a trachea and needs to be cared for around the clock, currently lives with her grandparents in Arkwright Road, Sanderstead.

But this is only temporary, and her mother fears the local authority are not acting fast enough to rehouse them.

She said: “I think it’s disgraceful that someone in a situation like we are, in desperate need of help, can’t actually get it.

“The council have shown absolutely no sympathy, no compassion whatsoever.

“They have offered us several homes but none have been appropriate. The latest one doesn’t even have a parking bay for me.”

A council spokeswoman said that if the latest offer is accepted provisionally by the family the authority would negotiate for a parking space with the property owners.

She added: “We’ve worked very hard with the health services and the family to find a suitable home and we’ve made numerous offers of housing, the latest of which is for a purpose-built, wheelchair accessible, ground floor flat.”

Millie’s brain tumour was discovered during an eye test in October 2015.

Ms Garbutt described the moment her daughter’s life, and her own, changed dramatically.

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Young Millie was just 10 years old when an optician discovered she had a brain tumour

She said: “She loved going out. We were always out visiting people, going to parks, swimming. A really active little girl.

“And now all of that has been taken away from her. It’s heart wrenching. To have to watch my daughter’s life change so drastically.

“Unless it happens to you or someone you love, as a parent, there is absolutely no way you could begin to understand how it feels.

“I just want Millie to be happy, and a home where she has the room to play and that’s big enough for her equipment is what she deserves.”

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