Mum and young sons forced to sleep on concrete floor after being made homeless

A mother with just £10 to her name has blasted a council as she and her two young boys were forced to sleep on concrete floor after being made homeless.

Acacia Brownsell from Basildon, Essex found herself in a desperate situation after she was told she could not stay in her grandmother's home as she was being moved into a care home. Despite attempting to take over the tenancy, she claimed council employees gave her mixed messages about whether she could or not and ultimately was told to leave the property.

Describing the ordeal as "absolutely awful", Acacia told the Mirror that Basildon Council insisted on April 5 that she fill out a homeless form and move out of the property due to it not being in her name. She was then forced to pack what she could into bags all while trying to take care of her two boys Malakai, 5, and Kyran, 4. She says she constantly contacted the council while walking around the town and was ultimately told to return to the home on April 8, despite carpets and furniture having been removed.

"I explained the property was gutted out and there was no carpets and no cooking facilities just concrete floors and nails hanging out [of] the floors and mould on the walls," Acacia said, adding that her children "had to lay on their coats".

According to housing and homelessness charity Shelter, in December 2023 there were at least 309,000 people registered as homeless in England. It added homelessness had risen by 14 per cent on the previous year.

Acacia claimed a woman from the council arrived at the home and agreed that it was not acceptable for anyone to stay in. The mum was then directed to stay at a hotel in the area. The single parent, who claimed to have just £10 to her name, added while the hotel offers a better situation for her as well as Malakai and Kyran, she had issues with getting suitable nutrition for her children. "There are no appliances here," she said. "The council won't help with any food vouchers or anything."

Acacia said food at the hotel was £11, which immediately was too expensive for the family and so opted to buy sandwiches from an ASDA café for a pound each, but added "that is not a meal." The mum claimed after raising the issue with council officials, she was directed to go to a food bank. "I'm not being funny, a food bank gives you pasta and tinned stuff," Acacia said. "But I haven't got any cooking facilities. I've just got a kettle. I can do a couple of pot noodles but that's not good enough."

A Basildon Council Spokesperson told the Mirror: “We apologise for the service Miss Brownsell has received on this occasion. We recognise that accommodation should have been provided to the resident and her family after the property had been emptied. Basildon Council received a self-referral form from Miss Brownsell on 8 April 2024 and hotel accommodation was provided the following day. The council will contact Miss Brownsell today to discuss options regarding further financial support.”

Acacia responded to the council's statement, telling The Mirror: "I had no choice in any of this at and got told to fill out a homeless application. They knew I was going to be homeless and yesterday (April 15) I had a phone call and they are trying to palm me off into private renting once I've already said I can't afford private rent."