Bristol: The Barton House residents left in limbo for weeks

On a dark and cold evening in November, hundreds of people were told to pack a bag and leave their homes immediately. Surveys had shown Bristol's oldest tower block would be unsafe if there was a fire or explosion. Many families thought they would be in emergency accommodation for just a few days. Now, nearly five weeks on, they are hoping to be told more about the building's future. The BBC has been following some of the people affected.

"This place is everything to me, I made it my own… and now it feels like a prison."

Adrian has lived in Barton House for more than two decades. When Bristol City Council announced it could be unsafe, he refused to leave.

"I am happy here, I have made it into my own nest," Adrian said.

"It's not like a board game where you pick up the pieces and move them to different places, people are not going to be happy," he added.

The 48-year-old overcame addiction while living in his second floor flat and said he would stay until he had somewhere more suitable than a hotel to stay in.

"This flat carries good memories and bad, where I struggled with my own personal demons of addiction. I now haven't touched alcohol or drugs for eight years," Adrian said.

In the flat next door, Yas, 30, lived with her two-year-old son.

They have spent the past four weeks living in a hotel room often eating takeaway food.

"All I want to know is that me and my son are going to be able to get into a routine again and not be stuck here for months to come," Yas said.

Living with epilepsy has made a tough situation even worse for her.

"My mental health is very much impacted. My brain is literally up and down - and down and up - I don't get one bit of rest," Yas said.

She added: "The seizures are really tiring.

"It's been really traumatising to go through... but I have a family to care for, so we must push through, what else can we do?"

In Yousif's 12th floor flat, a cooking pot is still on the hob from the night he was told to leave his home.

"We left panicking. If a fire happened, escaping from this height would be scary," he said.

Yousif fled Sudan to escape war and made his life in Bristol. He said the family were really happy in the city.

Like Yas, he has been staying in a Holiday Inn in Bristol.

He works as a taxi driver but since the council-owned tower block was evacuated, he has been doing longer school runs, supermarket trips, and going back to the flat to do laundry.

The 36-year-old said this meant he had less time to ferry passengers and his income had dropped by 50%.

"I am worried about how much I am earning. I need to support my family and keep paying rent," Yousif added.

Bristol City Council said surveys had shown three flats out of 98 in Barton House, which was built in 1958, were structurally compromised.

It said concrete had not been attached properly when the tower was built, and added the block was not constructed according to design plans.

Somaia is worried about the impact of the evacuation on her four children.

"My little one asked me if we are homeless now, I said we weren't, but we must leave because it's unsafe," she said.

"As a mum, I am worried. My first child is sitting her GCSEs and living at a hotel is making it really difficult, I want her to do her best.

"For my seven-year-old who has a sleeping disorder, he wakes up worrying," she added.

Whether people will ever be able to safely live in Bristol's oldest tower block again is still unclear, residents are hoping a meeting later will shed some light.

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