We’ve been forced to live in a tent for more than TWO MONTHS after our house burned down – we’ve got nowhere else to go

A COUPLE have been living in a tent for more than two months after their house burned down. 

The disabled woman and her partner have pitched up in a friend's back garden and have been struggling to find anywhere else suitable. 

She believed the fire which gutted their home in Hull was a case of arson. 

She said:  "I was shocked to come home to the police trying to smash the door in to let the fire brigade in. I was heartbroken. I'd lived in that house for years.

"They found an aerosol can in the garden which was not left by us. I knew it had to be somebody else who did it."

They have been living in a tent for the last nine weeks which has not been easy, especially due to the woman's illnesses.

They have tried to get help from the council and other organisations but say they have struggled to find any suitable new accommodation.

She added: "I've tried housing associations. I've tried private rent but a lot of them won't take unemployed tenants.

"I've been into the council but if you go to the Wilson Centre now nobody works in there. It's all telephones and we're just really struggling to find somewhere."

They can fit a bed and TV in the tent but they walked away with “barely anything”. She also is worried ahead of the weather deteriorating. 

She said: “I'm not on the floor but the cold and the damp is setting in now so it's making my disability and illnesses worse. I suffer from spondylosis, endometriosis and arthritis so all the damp and cold is making it worse."

Hull City Council offered her a hostel but alleges that they refused to home both her and her partner there because his name was not on the tenancy agreement. 

And she said the hostel was inappropriate for her needs because she needs regular care and for her partner to help with things like getting dressed. 

She added: "I keep trying all these places but I'm really struggling.”

She lived in her house for 14 years with a previous partner and when he left she took over the tenancy and then met her current partner, who therefore is not on the tenancy agreement. 

Her landlord's insurance allowed for them to initially stay in a hotel for four weeks but she did not feel safe to go back to the house after it was redone as she believes the fire was started by someone intentionally.

She said: "The fire started in the garden and spread quite fast into the kitchen and bathroom and everything else was so badly damaged I was advised to leave certain things behind as it would cause chest problems on top of the problems I already have."

Her partner's brother put out a Facebook post appealing for help from the public with their situation and some people in the comments suggested they go to the council. 

Her partner replied with the claim that the council said that there is a housing crisis at the moment with 11,000 people waiting for a home so his only option is for them to stay in a tent at the moment.

Hull City Council has been approached for comment.