A YOUNG carer is pleading with a council to allow her to stay in the property she shared with her terminally ill grandmother.

Katie Dresser, 26, moved into her beloved grandmother’s Darlington home to nurse her through cancer.

Just days after the death of her grandmother, Kathleen Watson, she is facing the prospect of being forced out of the property.

Ms Watson devoted the last months of her life to trying to name her granddaughter on the tenancy for the two-bedroom home but died before arrangements could be completed.

Despite Ms Dresser being willing to pay full rent and maintain the property, red tape means the property is likely to be put to market following the death of its named tenant.

Housing rules mean she cannot automatically be given tenancy because she had lived there full-time for less than 12 months.

Ms Dresser has been told she must leave and, if she wants to return, apply for the property when it returns to the market.

Ms Dresser claims she has been offered a similar property on the Redhall estate but would rather stay in the home she shared with her grandmother.

She said an eviction would force her from her home at a difficult time and create problems for elderly neighbours.

The care assistant said: “It was my nana’s dying wish for me to be able to stay where we lived together.

“She lived there for 13 years and if she hadn’t suffered from cancer, she could have lived there for another 20 years.

“I help the neighbours a lot and it’s better to have someone they know stay, rather than have just anybody here.”

She added: “I told nana I’d been allowed to stay so she could die in peace.

“She’d be furious and the whole thing is really depressing.

“The worst thing is that I’m on the housing bidding list so when it’s on the market, I can bid on it anyway.”

A spokeswoman for Darlington Borough Council confirmed discussions had taken place prior to the death of Ms Watson.

She said: “We have approved policies to cover situations like this and criteria that must be met to be fair to all people seeking accommodation in the borough.

“Because she had not lived there for more than the 12 months required, she would have needed to complete a housing application form.”

Following Ms Watson’s death, the council has urged Ms Dresser to make a further appointment to discuss housing matters.

Their spokeswoman said no eviction date had been fixed.