Evicted family seeking help 'stranded' inside council office after staff go home
A family evicted from their home spent several hours “abandoned” inside a council office, with one of their children forced to sleep under a desk.
Tiffany Powell, 26, and partner Steven Bartlett, 29, were stranded for four hours after they say staff left them inside at the end of the working day and locked the doors.
The couple claim they were evicted from their rented home on January 25, after complaining about issues such as mould and dampness.
Last month they arrived at Harrow Council's Civic Centre in London, with their children Elliot, five, and Vanessa, two, looking for help.
But once the office closed at 5pm the staff went home, leaving them to fend for themselves inside the building.
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Vanessa's bed for several hours was her pushchair (Steven Bartlett / SWNS)
The family claim they were locked inside the building (Steven Bartlett / SWNS)Tiffany said: “We were there asking for help but when it reached 5pm the staff we were relying on for help walked out, locked the door and went home leaving us trapped for four hours on our own.
“My daughter and I arrived at the Civic Centre at 1 pm after bailiffs had taken the keys to our home.
"My partner then collected my son from school and they also joined us at the Civic Centre.
"It resulted in our children sleeping under the desk and the buggy as my son sat on the floor as there was nowhere else for him to sit and he was tired from a long day at school.
Tiffany Powell, 26, and partner Steven Bartlett, 29, with children Elliot, 5, and two-year-old Vanessa (Tiffany Powell / SWNS)"Our daughter fell asleep in her buggy. There was no place for a bed, so this was the best option available at the time as we did not want both of our children sleeping on the floor.
"We did not want our son on the floor but had nothing, not even a seat to offer him due to a lack of care about our situation from Harrow Council staff.”
Footage shot by the couple shows the reception area of the empty building empty, with the doors locked, and the family stranded with no food while Elliot napped under a desk and Vanessa in her pram.
Emergency accommodation was eventually found for the family at around 9 pm, after eight hours at the Civic Centre.
Once housing officers were able to facilitate the emergency accommodation at a Travelodge with a bed and breakfast, a security guard arrived to let them out.
After spending the night in the emergency accommodation, the family returned to the Civic Centre in the morning and were able to secure another night in a hotel.
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The council claims the building was not locked and the family was free to leave at any time.
The family have since been offered a place to live but have turned it down as it is more than 50 miles away in Northampton, East Midlands.
Tiffany added: "Harrow council have done nothing apart from making unrealistic offers to premises in Northampton taking my son and daughter away from their poorly father, and taking my son away from his educational support, which has already diagnosed him with anxiety and made progress with it."
A spokesman for Harrow Council said: “"We can confirm the family were not locked inside the Civic Centre.
"While the video appears to show this, the family were freely able to leave and were being supported by our security team while housing officers were helping find them suitable emergency accommodation.
"Officers are continuing to support the family during this stressful time.
“Later this month we will be closing the Civic Centre and opening a new customer centre at 6 Gayton Road for people at risk of homelessness or with concerns about vulnerable residents.
"This will help us improve customer experience.”
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