Home repossession has forced some families in to taking extreme measures to find shelter, it has been reported.
A couple have been forced to live in a garden shed after their home was repossessed, the Daily Mail reports.
Philip and Debbie Galloway, who have six children, found themselves unable to keep up with mortgage repayments on their three-bedroomed home and lost their property in June as a result.
With the children staying with relatives, the Hartlepool couple have now moved in to the shed - because, they claim, it is preferable to living in temporary council accommodation.
They are currently staying rent-free, as the allotment site in which the shed is situated is owned by Mr Galloway's father.
Mrs Galloway, 31, who originally fell behind on the repayments when she changed jobs recently, said that the private-rented council homes they saw had a host of problems, including holes in the kitchen floor, no running water and shoddy tiling. "The allotment is cleaner than half the houses they have sent us to," she told the newspaper.
However, these claims were rejected by a spokesman for Hartlepool council. "Mrs Galloway has been offered at least ten private sector properties but none has proved acceptable to her," he said. "We feel there is little else that we can do."
Meanwhile, another credit crunch-hit couple, who have been forced to live in their car after missing mortgage repayments and having their home repossessed, have also talked to the newspaper.
Sheffield residents Richard Webster and Laura Whitney, along with their two children, have been living in the five-door saloon for the past two weeks. Ms Whitney, 28, said that the family has no choice - as the council has declared them "intentionally homeless" and therefore ineligible for housing, and because their bad credit rating precludes them from renting privately.
