Families in a new-build block of flats have been left living out of hotels after a faulty light fitting sparked a huge fire.

Flames spread from the stairwell ceiling at the complex run by housing association Moat Homes in Drivers Close, Herne Bay, and ripped through the building.

All the tenants were evacuated and put up in temporary accommodation, where some remain as they face a three-month wait for repairs to take place.

Barbara Motsisi, who is registered disabled and lived in the block with her 15-year-old daughter, has been moved to the town’s Premier Inn.

The 42-year-old told KentOnline how she fell down the stairs trying to escape the fire, with the ordeal leaving her traumatised.

She says tenants have been asked by Moat Homes to continue paying rent and council tax - despite them not being able to live in the block.

But the housing association says it has supported residents in “any way we can” and “made sure our customers are not financially burdened”.

Recalling the terrifying blaze, Ms Motsisi says some residents were left trapped in the building.

Neighbours even brought a mattress to the scene as a tenant on the top floor threatened to jump out of a window as the flames spread.

The fire on December 21 ruined Christmas for the residents, with many spending the rest of the festive season in temporary accommodation and being forced to abandon huge quantities of food and presents.

Ms Motsisi said: “I had just bought our Christmas shopping home.

“My daughter went downstairs to take out the rubbish but the fire had started when she returned.

“She shouted for me and when I opened the door I saw the fire, which was dropping down from the ceiling onto the carpet.”

Her daughter banged on her neighbours’ doors and screamed: “Fire!”

Ms Motsisi said: “I was trying to get down the stairs quickly but I fell and hurt my head and hand.

“Within 10 minutes, the flames were all over the corridor.

“The trauma will not come out of my brain. I do not want to return to the area.”

Ms Motsisi says a man on the second floor was shouting out of his window that he was going to jump as the flames and smoke spread through the building.

The neighbours rushed to the scene with a mattress in a bid to catch him but he was too terrified to leap to the ground.

Tenants in two flats were trapped upstairs until the fire service arrived and rescued them.

Ms Motsisi, who moved into the complex in February last year, says her furniture was damaged by smoke from the fire. Meanwhile, a huge amount of food she bought for Christmas had to be abandoned.

She was allowed to collect a few belongings from the flat the following day but was then placed in temporary accommodation.

The mother and daughter were moved into Herne Bay’s Premier Inn, then the Hampton by Hilton in Canterbury, before Moat Homes tried to move them to a B&B in Bushyfield Road, Herne Bay, but there were too many stairs.

Now, she is living in the Premier Inn again.

Ms Motsisi has several illnesses and is taking 18 different medications. She struggles with her mobility and pain, and is now suffering from nightmares about the fire.

She says her family is struggling with life in the hotel.

“My daughter used to study until 11pm but she is tired when she comes home from school as she is not getting enough sleep,” Ms Motsisi said.

“Her birthday was this month and it ripped my heart out as we had to celebrate it in a Premier Inn.”

There are no cooking facilities in the hotel room. Ms Motsisi says Moat Homes has given her money for set meals which she can claim at the Table Table restaurant opposite.

But she added: “You are tired of the same things each day.”

The mum-of-one is still paying £60 a month in rent and council tax as her Universal Credit covers the rest. She also claims Personal Independence Payments.

She admits she refused a recent alternative housing offer from Moat Homes as she says it was not suitable. She says the housing association then removed her from its priority list.

A Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) report obtained by KentOnline says the fire last month at the Moat Homes block, located within a Redrow housing estate, is believed to have been caused by a faulty light fitting on the first-floor ceiling.

The report says the KFRS investigation concluded, based on the evidence available, that the light fitting “ignited, melted and ignited [the] carpet, which then spread”.

It adds: “The AOV (automatic opening vent) activated at the top of the building, residents opened both the front and rear exit doors on the ground floor whilst evacuating, creating a flow path for the fire to spread to the top floor.”

Moat Homes says the fire was not caused by an electrical fault, but “specifically the plastic casing of the light”.

Property services director Mark Warner told KentOnline: “The light fitting was fitted correctly and was made from a suitable material.

“It was fitted by the developer at the time the development was built, and met British Standards for manufacturing, as all light fittings must.

“An independent review conducted by Savills found the fire was ‘a completely random event, which couldn't be mitigated for’.”

Moat Homes has told residents the repair work could take up to three months.

Head of neighbourhood services Colin Kavanagh added: “Evacuating their homes just before Christmas has been incredibly hard for our customers, and we have supported them in any way we can.

“We have made sure our customers are not financially burdened by covering the ongoing costs of temporary accommodation, utility bills, mail redirection, food where needed, and other reasonable expenses.

“We have also offered several customers serviced accommodation or a housing move, so their families have the comfort and convenience of a home.

“Kent Fire and Rescue Service has found that the fire was accidental and caused by a faulty light fitting.

“Fortunately, the building’s fire protection features performed exactly as they should have by containing the fire within communal areas, preventing its spread into our customers’ homes, and ultimately saving lives.”