A brother and sister, both in their 70s, have been risking their lives for the past 20 years as their Sliema house, described as "extremely dangerous", continues to crumble to pieces around them.

Maryanne Gauci, 71, and her brother John Vella, 74, are appealing desperately to the authorities to find them alternative accommodation because their lives are in great danger.

They have, however, been offered four alternative places by the Housing Authority but refused them all, insisting they wanted to remain in Sliema.

The siblings pay around €56 a year in rent and they are ready to fork out some money to do the house up together with the owner. Mr Vella said: "The repair works are estimated to cost €56,000 but the owner refuses to do it up."

The Sliema house has been deteriorating for the past 20 years and the siblings claim the present owner does not want to do repair works because he wants to demolish and redevelop the site.

Parts of the house are without electricity, the floor tiles are cracked or broken and the mortar, which has a high soil content, is crumbling out of the walls. Large slabs have fallen from the ceiling leaving the concrete roof bare and at least two ceilings are bulging downwards with cracks appearing throughout.

They have to watch their step as parts of the cracked masonry fall out especially when walking under one particular stone that is cracked right through.

Mrs Gauci has already been injured by a large triangular piece of stone which fell from an archway when she opened a door to go into a small courtyard.

"The stone fell on my head and I had to be taken to the health centre because I needed five stitches," she said, her voice breaking with emotion.

Sobbing, Mrs Gauci said they could not continue living in this situation, in constant fear for their lives.

Just last Monday, on police orders, a wooden balcony was removed after pedestrians filed a report after being injured by falling debris.

The ceiling of one of the bedrooms has two holes which let in rainwater during bad weather. "We have to put buckets when it rains, otherwise everywhere is flooded," Mrs Gauci said.

They are forced to sleep in one room where two iron beds are crammed together with a small wardrobe in the middle. With no bathroom, the only toilet and sink in the house is in a timber balcony which has deteriorated.

Because they can't take any showers, they end up washing in a large metal bath which is then hung up in the courtyard, or they take showers at their relatives' house.

They also have to make do without a kitchen and Mrs Gauci cooks on an oven and a single portable gas burner which is squeezed into a little corner.

Clothes, books and their other belongings are heaped haphazardly all over the house which is full of masonry and other debris.

An architect, commissioned by the owner on police orders, said the house was "extremely dangerous" and recommended their immediate evacuation. They were offered different places by the Housing Authority but refused them all. Mr Vella said: "We have been here so many years - we grew up in Sliema and we want a small place here."

The Social Policy Ministry said the couple have been offered housing four times since 2002 - which they all refused. On one occasion, Mrs Gauci had refused because the place was cut off even though her brother said he liked it.

"The Housing Authority is still doing its utmost to find alternative accommodation for the couple, notwithstanding that it has no vacant property in Sliema," the ministry said.

The authority informed the police three times - the most recent letter was sent on Friday - that the couple had refused the four places allocated and thus preferred to live in constant danger, the ministry said.

The couple also had the option to rent from the private sector and apply for rent subsidy in a means tested scheme, it added.

But it was not out of capriciousness that the siblings refused the places they were offered. These, they insisted, were worse than their Sliema home. "They wanted to send us to Cospicua or in Strait Street in Valletta," Mrs Gauci said.

The couple decided to take their case up to court and two days ago filed an application in court asking the authorities to grant them alternative accommodation.