Student claims £1,600 accommodation is like a 'prison' with broken heating, cockroaches and bags of sick

A student claims her expensive £1,600-a-month accommodation was like a "prison".

Alicia Sowerby, 23, claimed the high-rise block in Aldgate, London - which she moved into at the start of studying for her law degree last September - had broken heating, cockroaches everywhere and a bag of sick left out for a day. After a year of dealing with the squalid conditions, Alicia finally moved out on Friday (March 29) and claims her physical and mental health has been affected.

IQ Student Accommodation say the allegations do not reflect the reality of life at Aldgate and the issues Alicia have raised have been addressed.

Alicia shared the accommodation with other students from around the world. She said: "It's absolutely horrendous. You wouldn't believe it.

Read more: 'Struggling' mums blame cost-of-living crisis for shoplifting £2,250 of toiletries from Boots

"It's such a lot of money I have no idea how they are getting away with this.

"The whole block stinks and there is rubbish everywhere. It's disgusting. There was a bag of sick left on a chair for a whole day - it was spilling out everywhere. Living there was so bad for my mental and physical health.

"Those living conditions are a breach of human rights. It's like living in a prison.

"I used to sit and work near the reception area and people were complaining all the time but nothing changed." Alice, from York, said she moved into the property on September 4, 2021.

IQ claim photos of rubbish build-up had only built up in the refuse room behind the reception on the ground floor which was the result of a missed rubbish collection from the local council and this was cleared quickly.

And they say the building's team frequently cleans the common area and no record of a bag of sick