A MOTHER who was falsely accused of running a brothel from her home has said the mix-up has left her life in tatters.

Twenty-one-year-old Lisa Niles has been the centre of neighbourhood gossip and a target for abuse ever since police turned up at her house to search it, saying they suspected it was being used as a brothel.

She was kept under police surveillance after her address was wrongly supplied to Durham Police - who should have been monitoring another house on the estate.

Ms Niles, who has also been accused of having an untidy garden, was immediately absolved of any crime.

Yesterday Ms Niles, of Fir Avenue, in the Woodlands estate, Durham City, said: "I have lived on this estate all my life and have never had a problem.

"But this has blown out of proportion.

"I am a total nervous wreck. Gossip has got out of hand, people are swearing at me in the street and vandalising my garden.

"I live on my own with my two-and-a-half-year-old son, Charlie, but he can't even play out in the garden."

She said she was sick and tired of the abuse and wanted to clear her name.

An address in Woodlands was supplied to Durham Police by the Home Housing Association, but a mix-up meant police started monitoring Ms Niles home.

Both parties have apologised for any distress caused by the mistake - but they accuse each other of causing the problem.

The housing association claims it supplied the correct address - but the police made a mistake.

And the police are adamant they were given Ms Niles' address by Home Housing.

Yesterday, Paul Stephens, housing manager of Home Housing, said the company was trying to find Ms Niles a new home.

"We are absolutely sorry about the misunderstanding. There was a mishap and nobody wanted her to go through this."