A FAMILY of eight today demanded a move from their cramped York council house.

Mum-of-six Vikki Ledger - expecting twins in April to take the total in the property to TEN - says her house is so full she feels like she is "living in a cage".

Space is so tight she has put a false wall in the bedroom shared by five of her kids to give some privacy.

Things have got so bad in her overcrowded Chapelfields home of nine years that Vikki's eldest son is regularly packed off to stay with a relative.

Desperate Vikki, being treated for depression triggered by the chaotic arrangements, today pleaded with council chiefs: "Please find me a bigger house."

Residents in the Bridle Way home are Vikki, her partner Gary, and her children Matthew, 14, Grant, 13, Ryan 11, Chloe, nine, Mollie, six, and two-year-old Dominic.

Vikki gets incapacity benefit while Gary looks after the children full-time. The family receives £360 each week in benefits - but Vikki says she should not be punished for having a big family.

Vikki, 35, who has been campaigning for a move for a year said: "It's classed as a three-bedroom house, but really there's only two.

"Five of the kids sleep in one of the bedrooms, me and my partner are in another, but the third one is so small you can't fit a normal-sized bed in.

"We've managed to squeeze a small bed and wardrobe into 49 sq ft for the youngest, but the rest of the children have to share a room with two sets of bunks and a mattress on the floor."

Vikki, who has rent arrears because of a housing benefit overpayment, said: "The council says I can't move until the arrears are cleared, but they were no fault of mine.

"Then they said I can't be moved unless it's a life-or-death situation. Just because I'm not slashing my wrists - do I have to do something like that to get the message across?"

She said she didn't want a "big posh house in the countryside", just four bedrooms.

"The way we are living is absolutely disgusting."

The living arrangements were affecting family life, she admitted, with the eldest son isolated by constant moves.

She is "dreading" what the situation will be like when her twins are born.

"This isn't something you plan when you are a teenager, it's just circumstances at the end of the day"

Stressed Vikki, who has five children from her first marriage, said she had contacted York MP Hugh Bayley about her problems.

Mr Bayley has written to the council to check whose fault it was that the family was in arrears.

He said: "Like all families, the Ledgers must take responsibility for their own actions.

"They decided to have a large family and have a responsibility to provide for their children.

"It is not fair on other council tenants that have paid their rent if people in arrears are rehoused before them."

A City of York Council spokeswoman said: "Unfortunately we only have a limited number of four-bedroom council homes in the city and they very rarely become available.

"There are a wide range of reasons why we may not be able to provide tenants with an immediate transfer, including lack of availability in their area of choice, or unpaid rent arrears."

Updated: 09:59 Monday, December 06, 2004