‘I couldn’t cope alone’

Dad Simon Harding says a bit of breathing space would have been a lifeline for him. He fell into debt when his wife Lucy was diagnosed with brain cancer and he had to give up work to look after her and their newborn daughter Ivy, who is now five. Simon, 34, of Milton Keynes, said: “Shortly after Ivy was born, my wife Lucy went for scans because she’d had seizures while pregnant. It was a brain tumour and as it progressed she started to lose her ability to do things. I was offered redundancy and that seemed the best option. It meant I could look after them both. “The redundancy pay I got helped until we could get financial help such as carer’s allowance and disability benefit. But it didn’t take long before our finances fell apart. “The drop in income made it difficult to pay bills. It got toughest when Lucy died in 2016 and I lost the financial support we had got, along with having to face the STRUGGLE Simon with Ivy funeral bill. You get a bit of help but it goes nowhere near paying the true cost. Friends and family had to chip in to help me out. “It’s difficult struggling emotionally and trying to cope with a young child, as well as having financial problems. I had sleepless nights and became sick with worry. I couldn’t cope with phone calls and letters about bills. “I reached breaking point and contacted StepChange Debt Charity. They were brilliant and got the creditors off my back with an affordable repayment plan. “I’m not out of the woods yet but I feel much stronger and in control. Now Ivy is five I feel ready to go back to work. I’ve been studying for some additional qualifications and hope I can find a job soon. “A bit of breathing space and getting the right help early on would have helped me so much and stopped a lot of the financial heartache I went through.”