A DAWLISH father, whose family face being made homeless, has hit out at what he describes as a lack of support available to families in this situation.

He has even said he feels like moving his family into a tent at Forde Park next to Teignbridge Council’s headquarters in protest at the lack of progress being made for him.

Sam Hughes and his partner and two children, aged three and 12, have been told they must leave the home they have lived in for more than eight years.

‘There’s not much going on to help people in our situation,’ said Sam. ‘We just want a home in Dawlish for our family.

‘We have lived in this house for more than eight years and now have a Section 21 notice to quit.

‘No-one seems to be able to help us.

‘Our landlords want us out and there are no homes available for us to rent here.

‘We have roots in the town and one of our children is happy at the local school.

‘This is not fair, we are being left feeling discriminated by all agencies in Dawlish/Teignmouth and the housing officer.

‘We are getting refused two bedroom properties due to them not being big enough. We technically do not earn enough from benefits to be able to afford the prices of three bedroom properties due to the renters’ calculator so we really are at a loose end!

‘We have also been advised by our housing officer to only apply for properties up to £730 per month, which around here barely scrapes the price of some one bedroom flats!

‘I’ve met with the Teignbridge Council Housing Officer and she just seemed to shrug her shoulders saying they had nothing to offer us.

‘We could be homeless within the next couple of weeks and we’re getting really worried for our family.

‘If that happens I feel tempted get a tent and move my family into it at Forde Park in protest at the lack of support for us.’

A Teignbridge Council spokesperson said: ‘Unfortunately we are unable to comment on individual circumstances.

‘However, we recognise the difficulty people face in Teignbridge and nationally in finding affordable rental accommodation and are doing everything we can to address this.

‘We are also building our own council housing to help increase the stock of affordable homes for local people.

‘Where people are homeless, we try to place them within our local area wherever possible, and families that are placed in temporary accommodation outside the area are done so for the shortest time possible.

‘We are trying to work with landlords across the district to provide more affordable accommodation and would ask anyone who can offer this to contact us.’