Two women homeless after rejecting flat by Lush soap factory due to their highly sensitive noses

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Two women have been left homeless after rejecting a council flat near a Lush soap factory due to their highly sensitive noses.

Cherie Hitchens, 58, and Joanna Morrison, 63, have been living in temporary accommodation provided by Dorset Council for a year - both of them have multiple disabilities including multiple chemical sensitivity.

This makes them extremely sensitive to any chemical-type smells, Dorset Live reports READ MORE: Spain announces stricter entry requirements for UK holidaymakers ahead of half-term Cheries said that chemical smells can cause them to vomit, have rashes, experience a racing heart rate and brain fog - their GP diagnosed them with the condition while Ms Morrison has had further treatment by a specialist.

So when Dorset Council said the only permanent accommodation it could offer them was a bungalow in Upton, one mile from the Lush soap factory, Cherie and Joanna said they had no choice but to turn the offer down, leaving them homeless as a result. "They evicted us because we said no to one permanent bungalow in Upton," Cherie said. "We said no to that because it was right next to the carriageway, there were lots of Lush smells, lots of people working for Lush - we are allergic to scented products, they make us very ill. "Also the problem with the bungalow was they said if we didn't stay there for five years, we would have to pay for all the disabled adaptions." The pair are part-time wheelchair users, with Joanna suffering from asthma and diabetes while Cherie suffers from spinal stenosis, Graves Disease and has recently recovered from cancer - they have been living in Upton since 2020.