A woman and her children forced to sleep on blood-stained mattresses in cramped rooms after leaving an abusive partner had a “horrible” experience, said Women’s Aid.

Children forced from their home by domestic violence were homeless for two years, during which they slept on blood-stained mattresses and found themselves in accommodation where they were exposed to their mother’s ex-partner or his friends, an investigation by the Ombudsman for Children’s Office has found.