Kerry Stacey: Ex-Emmerdale actress living in rat-infested council house after losing fortune

Kerry Stacey, 40, played barmaid Toni Daggert in the ITV soap for two years between 2005 and 2007.

She also secured a part on BBC daytime show Doctors but when she left, the roles dried up and her career nose-dived.

She ended up losing thousands of pounds when she set up her own ‘Fame Academy’ drama school for underprivileged children in 2008 but it closed three years later.

Kerry, who has two young children, was forced to move into social housing in Nottingham in 2015 but says the property is rat infested and covered in mould.

Kerry lives in the house with her two children, her five-year-old son and three-year-old daughter.

The family have been treated for bronchitis and chest infections and Kerry is now appealing for the council to move them to a more suitable house.

Single-mum Kerry said: "Since leaving Emmerdale, things have been tough.

"I was young and a bit immature, and all of a sudden I had the money to be able to do the things that I wanted to.

"I came from an underprivileged background, so I wanted to give something back by opening up a drama school.

"Initially it went very well, but things started to take a turn for the worse when I started to offer free lessons.

"It meant that I could pay the costs of renting the premises, and very quickly my life started to turn upside down.

"When I moved into this home, that was all put on hold, especially with having such young children and being on my own.

"It's been absolutely horrific, since moving in it's just been one thing after the other.

"My acting career has been completely put on standby, because either myself or my children have constantly been ill.

"We all suffer from asthma, so we've been coughing up black and brown phlegm constantly.

"I've had bronchitis several times, and I dread to think what sort of effect it's had on my long-term health.

"I pray that it doesn't have lasting effects on us. Every single month we have had to have different steroids and antibiotics.

"At times it's been hard to breathe. We're being treated like dogs.

"We moved in 2015 when the kids were young. It was listed as a void property at the time, but we were told that it was fit to live in.

"Obviously I noticed first of all that there were the huge holes in the wall, but I was told that they just air vents.

"But that's just not true. It's absolutely freezing in here all of the time. I've had to whack the heating up, because it's literally like having all of the doors and windows open all the time.

"It means that I've been in debt. I've still been paying all the bills and I'm a good tenant, but the cost of heating the home in winter is absurd.

"It leaves me having to choose between leaving my children freezing cold, or struggling even more financially.

"All sorts of vermin have been able to get in and out of the home, so it's not a healthy environment for the kids.

"At one stage there was sewage coming through the taps, it was horrific.

"I had to explain to the little ones that they couldn't drink from there. My little boy now thinks that you can't drink water from taps, because that will happen.

"A joiner came in a few weeks ago to do some work, but when he got here he just shook his head in disbelief at the state of it.

"The council have been useless - I've been on the phone to them ever since I moved in and very little has been done.

"They said that they would fix one of the holes, but all they did was put a cover over it, so all the cold air still gets in.

"I've had rows with the council in the kitchen over it - the children have come in and said: 'Please stop shouting at mummy'.

"It's clear that more needs to be done from a structural point of view to fix it.

"People will think that I'm being difficult, but it's so hard to live here.

"I moved in because my home was too small, especially as I had my second child on the way.

"I desperately need some help. It's a negative spiral - the money needed to put the house in liveable condition is making it harder for us to keep going financially."

Delroy Beverley, director of construction repairs and maintenance services at Nottingham City Homes, said: "We have attempted on several occasions to visit to assess the situation and carry out any actual repairs.

"We will also be offering again to support Miss Stacey in her wish to move house, as despite having a high priority status for a move, she has not been bidding for any new properties, so she may require extra support."