Outrage of benefits mum denied extension to her three-bed home

A MOTHER claiming benefits says she feels neglected because her housing association is refusing to give her a free home extension.

Nicola Philpot, 33, and her 71-yearold husband Joe say living with their four children in a three-bedroom house is making the place cramped.

The couple moved into the house in Chigwell, east London, in 2004, when they had just three children.

It has a bathroom, a lounge area and a kitchen, and their rent is paid by housing benefits. But their youngest child, Lily Rose, four, is now forced to sleep on a mattress in their bedroom.

Mrs Philpot does not want their older children – Kody, 12, Thomas, 13, and Felicity, 16 – to share rooms because Thomas is autistic and needs his own space.

She said her request for an extension was turned down because Circle Housing told her she would probably move in five years anyway.

But she added: “We were told when we moved in that we were able to have an extension if we wanted.

“We won’t move because we like it here and it would be difficult for us anyway because of my health problems. If we were forced to move it would put too much stress on me.”

Mrs Philpot has a rare kidney disease, loin pain hematuria syndrome, which was diagnosed a few years ago.

The condition gives her chronic pain and means she is unable to walk up the stairs.

She said if a stairlift was installed she would be “more than happy because it would make my life so much easier”.

Circle Housing said it had fixed a date to fit the stairlift, a claim that Nicola denies.

A spokesman for the housing association said: “It is our policy to ensure that any adaptations are the best solution for the tenant. We have given consent for the stairlift to be installed as requested and expect the work to be carried out shortly.”