LITTLE Nathan Austin's doctor has warned that sleeping in a damp mould-ridden council-owned flat could kill him but council officers don't yet consider moving him a top priority.

Two-year-old cancer sufferer Nathan has not slept in his own bed since being diagnosed with a brain tumour in November.

His mum Lucy Brooker, 21, spent seven weeks in The Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford with him after the diagnosis but she has since refused to return with Nathan to her flat in Herbert Road, Micklefield, High Wycombe.

They are now staying with her disabled mum in Flackwell Heath as she fears that her son's life would be at risk in the Micklefield flat, which she claims is damp and full of mould.

Social workers and doctors have all backed Ms Brooker's claim that living in the flat may kill Nathan, she says.

"Nathan can't fight infection and catching a cold could be a matter of life or death," she said. "I'm not taking him back there. I've got letters warning about the dangers.

"He can't walk. He needs care around the clock and we're not even in our own house. The council has listed the case as being priority three. But what could be worse than this?"

The council put in fans to tackle the damp but it is still thriving, says Ms Brooker.

Dr Kristina King, of Cherrymead Surgery, Flackwell Heath, said: "Nathan is having chemotherapy which may lower resistance to infection. Mould spore germs in his living environment have the potential to cause a life-threatening condition."

Nathan is due to have his tumour removed in February.

A spokesman for Wycombe District Council said: "The council's medical advisor has assessed the case and while there is a level of priority, we are investigating whether that priority should be increased.

"As much as we'd like to find alternative accommodation, the four areas the family has specifically asked for are very popular and alternative two-bedroom accommodation is not yet available. As a matter of urgency we are seeking to resolve the problems in their existing home."

He added an inspector called on January 18 but nobody was in and the family has been asked to organise a suitable visit time.