Rainham residents who have had to endure living without a lift for weeks have now been temporarily moved into hotels after a water outage.

Clarion Housing, that manages Harvest Court in Orchard Village, has said that residents on the ground and first floors have been moved "as we have isolated their water supply".

"We expect the works required to reinstate the water supply to be complete this week," a spokesperson for the housing association said.

It is the latest setback for Harvest Court residents, with Clarion admitting further repairs are needed to fix the block's lift.

The problem with the lift reportedly began in mid-February following a leak in its shaft.

Last week, the Recorder reported on the difficulties some Harvest Court residents have had to face without the lift.

34-year-old Michelle Stevens, who is eight months pregnant, said she has been reliant on her friends to bring her groceries and other necessities for days.

Michelle said: “Everytime I climb up the stairs I literally feel like I am going to collapse." 

The stay in hotels is expected to be for a week, but one resident revealed her displeasure at the accommodation her family has been provided.

Read More: Orchard Village, Rainham flats left with no lift for weeks

Natasha Smith, who has a newborn baby and two other young children, told the Recorder that they were asked to leave their home overnight with little time for preparation.

She said: “I said I couldn’t do it because it was too late. My children were in bed."

They were taken to a hotel in Southwark the next day to live in a room that she believes is inadequate for her family.

It lacked in necessities like a microwave, a fridge, a place to wash up bottles or plug in a steriliser, she claimed.

Natasha said: “I can’t physically stay here. It is too hard. The room is tiny, my autistic daughter really struggled here."

There was only space for one travel cot, she claimed, so one of her babies had to sleep on the bed.

Natasha claimed she was initially told she would be provided food for two adults and two kids, but said she only received free meals for two adults and had to buy food for the children.

A spokesperson for Clarion Housing said: “Clarion is paying for these residents to stay in local hotels and we are providing additional food vouchers and other support as required.

"Our priority is to complete the repairs and move people back into their homes as soon as we can.”

The association previously apologised to Harvest Court residents about the lift outage and admitted: "It has taken far longer to resolve than we would hope and expect."

*This article was updated at 7pm on April 4 after Clarion Housing clarified the hotel move was related to the water supply and not the lift outage.