Grenfell Tower survivor without home feels 'forgotten'

Joseph John had moved into the tower three months before the blaze

A man who is still waiting for a permanent home three years after the Grenfell Tower fire says he feels "forgotten" by the authorities.

Joseph John moved into the tower three months before the blaze in west London on 14 June 2017.

The 29-year-old, who has moved with his family between various hotels and flats since the blaze, described the situation as "a nightmare".

Kensington and Chelsea Council said it was "working hard" to help.

The authority said 194 households from Grenfell Tower and Grenfell Walk had been rehoused since the fire, with two remaining in temporary accommodation.

Mr John came to the UK from his native Trinidad in 2016 and was living in the tower at the time of the blaze.

He escaped the fire which killed 72 people by climbing out of the window of his second floor flat with his then-partner and child.

Seventy-two people were killed in the Grenfell Tower fire

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr John said they had been told it would "probably [take] a month, three months" to be found a permanent home following the disaster but he had since "lost hope".

"I am one of the persons that has been forgotten. It's been a nightmare," he said.

The father of three lived in various "claustrophobic" Kensington hotel rooms for more than a year before moving into different flats in the area.

He said moving into his current flat in north Kensington had been "the worst point" as he was sofa surfing and it had taken several weeks to get any furniture.

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Mr John said his experience of the fire meant he required somewhere with two exits.

"Here there's one exit, so in the case of emergency I might have to jump through my window again," he said.

Kim Taylor-Smith, deputy leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, said they had been "working hard to make the properties we bought into a place that families can call home".

"We are nearly there, but we will not be rushing the last few to meet artificial deadlines," she said.