A man made homeless by a fire caused by vandals in Govanhill said he was ‘too scared to sleep’ in the emergency accommodation given to him.

In the early hours of Monday 23 July, Qamar Arbab (37) and his neighbours had to flee from their tenement flats above the 110 Allison Street Cleaners. His house was uninhabitable after the fire was extinguished and he was given temporary accommodation in the Hamish Allan Centre.

‘I have never lived in such dreadful conditions,’ he told the LOCAL NEWS. ‘I was too scared to sleep among the drug and alcohol addicts.’

He stuck it for two nights and was then offered a place in the Queen’s Park Hotel, nearby. But he refused that and has been taken in by friends. Local residents are campaigning to have the Hotel closed because of the amount of trouble being caused by the residents.

Glasgow City Council told the LOCAL NEWS they only have these two places on the Southside to offer in emergencies. ‘We don’t have a lot of spare, temporary accommodation and use bed and breakfast places as a short term solution,’ said a Council spokesperson.