A GRATEFUL mum who launched a desperate appeal to keep her son’s cherished dog at home is celebrating after a housing association granted permission for the pet to stay.

Vicky Atkinson, of Propelair Way, Colchester, has seen Marshall, a four-month-old Staffordshire bull terrier, have a remarkable impact on her son.

Toby, seven, has suffered with mental health issues ever since his mother was assaulted in front of him in 2015.

In 2016, Ms Atkinson decided to take in Marshall after he was left behind by a previous partner.

She watched on as her son’s self-esteem and confidence sky-rocketed thanks to his new loveable sidekick.

But in September she found herself fighting a battle to keep Marshall from being re-homed, as landlord Colne Housing refused to grant written consent for her to keep him at the flat.

Colne Housing insisted neighbours lodged concerns about safety and noise nuisance and Ms Atkinson says she faced a deadline to rehome the dog or else face eviction.

But with a petition in support of her plea reaching more than 2,500 signatures and Ms Atkinson thinking about moving elsewhere, Colne Housing relented.

She said: “I was assigned a new housing officer and she and the director of Colne Housing allowed me to keep Marshall in my flat, if I sign a new contract.

“I have yet to receive it as it is being dealt with by my solicitor. I will be signing so long as the terms are reasonable.

“To say there were complaints is untrue, Marshall has never been a nuisance.

“I lost so much sleep over this.

“I was stressed all the time at the thought of us losing our home. It was unbelievable.

“My son is now over the moon.

“He is doing amazingly well in all areas now.

“I am so overwhelmed with the amount of support I received not only locally, but from all around the world.

“It brought tears to my eyes and I am so grateful.

“It was such hard work, but we can finally relax and look for alternative accommodation.”

Amy St Ledger, head of customer services at Colne Housing, said: “We are continuing to enable the customer to find a positive solution. The anti-social behaviour complaints we receive are reviewed in the light of individual circumstances.

“As the customer is now looking to be rehoused and there have been no further complaints, we have offered her a six month contract.

“This enables her to keep the dog - if the conditions are met – until she moves to a new home.”