A young mum fled a filthy hotel room with her 12-month-old baby after fearing for their safety.
The 21-year-old mum had sought emergency housing in Glasgow after threats were made at the home she was living in.
But after being faced with a night at McLay’s Guest House in Glasgow’s east end, she opted to go back to the “bad situation” she had escaped in the first place.
The mum said: “I needed to get out of my home but I was most certainly thrown out of the frying pan and into the fire. It was a nightmare.
“The place was basically being used as a centre for refugees, mostly men, and the room I was given wasn’t fit for living in.
“I could see bugs on the bed and, along with human hair, and there was bloodstains on lamps and on the mattress.”
“My son took unwell and I was told to call 111 that was it.
“The receptionist said they weren’t able to change the bedding and that was the last straw, so we just left there and then.”
The young mum was later provided with alternate accommodation after reporting her concerns to Glasgow City Council.
In September, 2022, it was reported that ten women had been placed in McLays Guest House without adequate food or space to tend to their newborns.
Conditions in the BandB were first raised by the charity Positive Action in Housing, which had been lobbying for long-term housing to be found for the women.
The office of the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland condemned conditions in the facility “gravely concerning”.
McLays has been used extensively, along with a raft of other hotels and B and Bs in Glasgow after the city council effectively ran out of council houses.
The shortage in homes was caused by a chronic failure to build affordable and social homes – despite many warnings that a storm was brewing.
McLays has 81 bedrooms.
The hotel website states: “Guests can enjoy relaxing, chatting, reading or watching television in one of the 2 spacious and comfortably furnished TV lounges.
“McLays has 2 dining rooms offering a choice of breakfast menu complimentary to all guests.
McLays and Glasgow City Council have been asked to comment.
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