The last home in the trans- formed Upper Horfield estate has been occupied.

The Boyd family have moved into the final home five years after work started on the site.

Amy, Nathan and their three children Ellie, seven, Alfie, four and Grace 23 months, thought they would never be able to afford a home with enough bedrooms.

Upper Horfield has been transformed through a partnership between Bristol City Council, Bovis Homes and Bristol Community Housing Foundation (BCHF).

Half the homes were made available as "affordable rent", and half were sold.

The houses on the old estate had to be knocked down because many were affected by concrete cancer and other structural problems.

They have been replaced with 1,000 new homes.

As well as people who already lived in the area returning to the new homes, the development has welcomed people from across the city.

Nathan, a greengrocer and Amy, a full-time mum, both 33, were living in privately rented accommodation in Redfield before they moved to Upper Horfield.

They got the house after registering on the Homechoice website and bidding for the property.

Amy said: "We didn't buy before the children and then the market went mad and we didn't have a hope.

"We have been on the housing register for a while because we couldn't afford to rent somewhere with enough bedrooms.

"We couldn't really believe it when we found out we had got the house.

"It feels like someone is going to ask for the keys back.

"We feel really lucky. It means that we will have some security at last and can put down some roots in our new community."

BCHF chief executive Oona Goldsworthy said: "The team behind the regeneration project has shown great staying power.

"Like a big machine we have had to rely on all the different cogs to make sure everything happens at the right time so that families can move in when they expect to.

"Without teamwork this would never have happened.

"From the bricklayers right through to the housing officers, everyone has played their part in getting the largest housing project in Bristol for decades completed on time and on budget."

Peter Farr has been involved in the project for more than nine years.

An original board member, past chairman of BCHF and also a tenant, he said: "Nobody believed we would ever achieve this.

"A small community based housing association managing a multi-million pound building project.

"But we've proved we can do it and do it well. I'm very proud of the achievement."