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​Family Of 14 Living In Four Bed House After 'Benefit Cap'

​Family Of 14 Living In Four Bed House After 'Benefit Cap'

A mum of six had to move into her mother's home with her six children - even though seven others already lived there

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

A family of 14 have been forced to squeeze into a four-bedroom house after a single mum of six claims to have been evicted from her home, following a housing benefit cut to just '50p a week'.

Having been unable to pay rent or feed the family, Patricia Newman, 33, had to move into her mother's home with her six children - even though seven other members of the family were already living there.

Her mother, Dorothy, already shares her home with her two adult sons, along with their four children (of whom she has guardianship).

Dorothy believes that her daughter and grandchildren - who are all aged between one and 13 - need a space of their own, adding that the kids have to sleep in her living room every night.

SWNS

The grandmother-of-ten said: "Patricia and the children really need rehousing - the children need their own home with their mother.

"I have guardianship of four kids and it is hard work having that many children here.

"I am out looking after my mother who is seriously ill with heart problems among other illnesses. All day I do the jobs that she needs doing.

"Then I come home and I need to do it all again. You can't come home and relax."

Patricia claims that she was evicted from her social housing in Cheltenham, after she had her youngest child, one-year-old Kenny, when her benefits were reassessed.

Patricia is also mother to Kian, 13, Charlie, six, Cody, five, Poppy, three and Lexi, two.

SWNS

She says that the government benefits calculator took into account the combined benefits she was already receiving, and then considered the amount of money that was also coming into the household via other forms of benefits.

But Patricia claims that left her with just 50p a week in housing benefits, and that this was not enough to cover all of her costs.

"When I had my youngest, they reassessed my benefits and told me that I was only going to be awarded 50p per week for housing benefit," she said.

"The rest would have to come out of my tax credits and income support. At the end of the day, I don't have the money to pay all of that rent.

"Now we are living with my mother, and it is very stressful and very overcrowded. My mother is now the guardian to four kids, and my brothers are living there as well."

Apparently Dorothy volunteered to pay Patricia's rent for her, but they claim that the housing association refused.

SWNS

Patricia added: "Cheltenham Borough Homes seemed to deem the eviction as me making myself voluntarily homeless - but that was not the case.

"I went to a meeting at Cheltenham Borough Council and I was waiting for them to tell me what they could do to help us.

"I waited weeks and in the end my social worker told me that the council was not going to do anything."

Patricia continued: "My eldest son's father died when he was one, and the other children's fathers just don't bother with their kids," she said.

"I have tried to get help from the MP and councillors, but no one seems to help us."

Paul Stephenson, chief executive at Cheltenham Borough Homes, said: "We continue to work closely with the family and their support workers to resolve this ongoing situation."

Featured Image Credit: SWNS

Topics: UK News, UK