'We got sick after we moved in ... you wouldn't believe why'

“We moved in, we lived here for a little while, (and then) everyone started getting sick. We were told by the neighbours that they suspected something going on here, so we decided to contact a company to get them to come out and do some testing."

A Queensland family is in shock after they were forced from their rental home due to “disturbing” levels of toxicity.

7Newsreports the family-of-six discovered their house was contaminated with methamphetamine residue which was making them “disgustingly sick”.

In a double blow, the family was forced to pay for their own toxicity testing and decontamination by their real estate agency, which has now left them homeless.

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Mum Emily Thornton told 7News there were dangerous levels of the deadly drug found in the home’s lounge room, bedrooms, bathrooms and the space adopted by the family as the children’s toy room.

“(It was) basically everywhere,” she said. “All throughout the house.”

Emily said it was “disgusting” to know her four children had been playing in a room with meth residue.

The Clandestine Drug Laboratory Remediation Guidelines say a safe level of meth residue is below 0.5 micrograms per 100 sq cm. The levels at the Thorntons’ house came in at 1.3 micrograms per 100 sq cm.

7News reports that number is high enough to kill.

RELATED: ‘I inspected a rental property in Sydney and was disgusted by what I saw’

The Thornton family started to get ill shortly after moving into their new rental home in Queensland. Picture: 7News

"They've told us to get out"

Emily told 7News she and her kids first felt the effects of the home shortly after they moved in, but didn’t consult a professional until a neighbour mentioned they were suspicious that the previous tenants were running a drug lab out of the home.

“We moved in, we lived here for a little while, (and then) everyone started getting sick,” she said.

“We were told by the neighbours that they suspected something going on here, so we decided to contact a company to get them to come out and do some testing.

“The testing came back positive for meth.

“They’ve told us just to get out, so we’ve taken what we’ve got and walked out the door.”

RELATED: ‘A woman snuck into my home and began using my stuff - it was the landlord’

Mum Emily Thornton said she was "disgusted" to think her kids were playing in a room with toxic meth residue levels. Picture: 7News

"We don't know what we're going to do"

On top of being left homeless, neither the real estate agency or the landlord would help pay for the testing, so the family spent $500, money Emily says they “don’t have”.

The Real Estate Agency in question told 7News they would now make sure the home is properly decontaminated, but the Thornton family will still need to foot the bill for emergency accommodation in the meantime.

“We just don’t know what we’re going to do,” Emily said.

“We don’t have the money to pay for it.”

Originally published as 'We got sick after we moved in ... you wouldn't believe why'