A single working mum-of-three is facing an uncertain future after being evicted from her home and finding the only alternative temporary housing she could be offered was a tiny studio in an area said to be ?drug infested and riddled with gang activity?.

The plight of Bermudian Nikita Davis has reached the highest level of Government in the past few days and resulted in Housing Minister Sen. David Burch giving a statement on efforts made to find the family alternative accommodation.

He said there was no secret stash of housing his department could produce and said they needed to show a degree of flexibility about where they could be accommodated during a short interim period.

Sen. Burch said: ?We anticipate having a one-bedroom apartment in Southampton for her within the next few months, but Ms Davis was offered interim accommodation in Hamilton.

?She refused that accommodation expressing that she only wanted to reside in the Southampton area.?

Ms Davis told she was shown the temporary lodgings and described it as a ?matchbox? studio unsuitable for her and her children, who are aged eight, five and two.

She also had reservations about moving away from the Southampton area where her children attend school.

An even more serious concern about the temporary home offered to Ms Davis has been voiced by the Families United in Action group, which last July marched on Cabinet calling for better housing provision.

In a statement, the group said: ?The tiny studio apartment offered to the Davis family is located in an area of Pembroke known to be drug infested and riddled with gang activity.

?It is absurd to suggest that such a dangerous location represents alternative accommodation for a single mother and three children.?

The FUA claim a former tenant of the studio apartment moved out because of the perceived dangers to her and her children and had told the group: ?One night when I was pregnant someone threw a brick through my kitchen window. Glass went everywhere and the brick nearly hit my daughter.?

And the FUA statement added: ?If she had accepted that studio it would just be a matter of time before Family Services would have intervened and try to break up her family by taking her children away because the space was too small and inadequate. This is a dangerous location. It is a Catch-22 for mothers who become homeless.?

Ms Davis, who said she was evicted onto the street during a rain shower, claims she might have considered the Pembroke offer if it had been a one-bedroom option.

She had been staying at a one-bedroom apartment in Horseshoe Road until the BHC informed her that the owner needed the property returned at the end of January.

Despite efforts to find alternative accommodation she was left with only the Pembroke studio to consider.

She said: ?All I asked for is more time. Why couldn?t I be allowed to stay where I was for two or three more months until the new place was ready.?

Ms Davis said the only person fighting her corner was Coalition for the Protection of Children chairman Sheelagh Cooper, who had managed to find her guest house accommodation in Warwick at short notice.

Speaking to , Mrs. Cooper said: ?I have had a look at the studio in Pembroke and it was awful and I do not believe it was any type of alternative because of its location with drug dealers and gangs that frequent the area.

?It would not be wise to put three children in that environment.?

Housing Minister Sen. Burch said that, as Ms Davis? previous home belonged to a private owner, the BHC had to abide by the wishes of that owner if requested to vacate the property.

He added: ?Everyone in this country is painfully aware of the housing crisis and the BHC faces great challenges daily in meeting the demand for affordable housing with limited resources. We are a helping agency, committed to assisting those in need, but that commitment does not extend to catering to every wish or whim of those seeking help.?

Sen. Burch said his department did not have n abundance of accommodation that would allow people to pick and choose.

He said there were people living in cars, caves and tents who his department were trying to house.

?We are doing everything we possibly can as quickly as we can. We don?t have an abundant supply. I don?t even have a secret supply of accommodation,? he said.

The Minister added that his department was prepared to help Ms Davis move her property from the guest house at the end of the week if she finds an alternative arrangement, or if she wished to take up the studio in Pembroke.