A DUNFERMLINE couple say Fife Council has failed in its duty of care after they have been forced to spend nights sleeping in their car.

Lynn and Alan Dunlop – who both work in different West Fife fast food restaurants – declared themselves homeless after the Wellwood house they had been renting was sold.

They had been due to move out at the end of June but were given a reprieve after the council told them there was no emergency accommodation available.

"The landlord was absolutely brilliant – we were supposed to be out on June 30 and we let the council know that was when we had to be out but he said because there was nothing available, we could stay there until the missives were signed.

"So we still had the points because of my disabilities and my husband's and being homeless. They had from June 30 to find us something.

"We had to move out on Wednesday when the house was sold.

"We had phoned beforehand and got told, 'Phone on the actual day you have to be out and you will get something'. There was nothing, no emergency accommodation, nothing."

When they moved out on Wednesday, the couple spent the night outside Lynn's mum's one-bedroom home in Townhill. She paid for a hotel for them for one night and they were able to stay with family over the weekend.

Last Friday, they were told a scatter flat in Dunfermline would be available on Monday.

But Lynn told the Press on Tuesday that the council said it would be "another couple of days" before it would be ready.

"Alan's blood pressure is now 204/97 because of it all and he had already had a stroke before," said Lynn.

"I can see one of us ending up in hospital again – or both of us. I understand Fife Council are struggling as well but they have got a duty of care.

"They are taking a lot of the homeless housing accommodation team for a specialist team to deal with Ukraine. There is a whole big team for them and everybody else is to deal with the small team.

"Yes, we need to be helping them, but not at our expense. We are council tax payers but we are second class."

The couple were back sleeping in their car on Monday night where they parked up near Alan's work to ensure they were close to toilet facilities.

"We have had to phone our works and say we cannot work the rest of the week as we don't know when it is going to be happening," added Lynn.

"We just fold the driver seat and passenger seat and keep our coats on."

The couple have sought help to resolve their situation from Dunfermline MSP Shirley-Anne Somerville, who has condemned the council's housing crisis.

"Fife Council should be thoroughly ashamed of the way they are treating those who have been pushed into homelessness," she said.

"Some of the stories I've been told are truly heartbreaking, with people desperately pleading for help but still being turned away. Temporary accommodation is supposed to be a last resort but now some of my constituents are just being abandoned by the local authority.

"Staff are doing all they can; I understand some have even been left in tears at being unable to provide support for vulnerable people.

"It's not their fault, however. They have been ​thrown under the bus by the utterly inept leadership of the Labour/Tory coalition, who spent months holidaying instead of tackling this crisis."

John Mills, Fife Council's head of housing services, said the provision of temporary and permanent accommodation was under "significant pressure".

"Since the first COVID lockdown, we've seen a steady increase in the numbers of families and children looking for temporary accommodation, which brings its own challenges. At any given time, we might be limited in what we can offer," he said.

"There's also been a decline in the number of council houses available to let. We know that some of our tenants are staying in properties that are larger than they may need, but they've been reluctant to move to a smaller home at this time. The result of this is that individuals and families may wait longer to be housed than we'd like.

"We are continuing to build new houses and to buy houses in the private market, but it takes time for these measures to have an impact.

"I'm pleased that Mr and Mrs Dunlop have now been able to take up an offer of temporary accommodation in the Dunfermline area. We'll continue to do our best to meet our legal duty to provide temporary accommodation to homeless people in Fife."

Councillor Judy Hamilton, housing and building services spokesperson, added: "The council is committed to ensuring that homeless people can be housed in temporary and permanent accommodation.

"I am working with council officers to ensure that additional temporary accommodation can be made available in the short term."