The families being unlawfully housed in single rooms by Croydon council
The mother of a homeless teenager who tried to take his own life has said he told her “mummy, I just can’t deal with it anymore”.
Mary (not her real name), 47, her son, 17, and her daughter, 12, have been living in one room of a bed and breakfast since they were evicted from a privately rented flat in November 2022 after the landlord decided to sell.
Under the Housing Act, it is unlawful for councils to keep households with children or pregnant women in temporary accommodation for more than six weeks.
The family have now been waiting for Croydon council to find them somewhere permanent to live for 15 months.
Mary showed Sky News her unanswered emails to the council notifying them of her son’s overdose and subsequent hospital stay.
Mary (not her real name) lives in one room with her teenager son and daughter
Sky News has also seen an NHS assessment of her son’s mental health following his suicide attempt in January, which states: “One of the stressors indicated in our assessment was poor living condition…[he] described the place as tiny, lack of privacy, smells, personal space.”
The report goes on to suggest that other residents also pose a hazard: “We observed there is risk from others rating as moderate – [he] describes being in a nerve-racking environment, men wearing tags, unhygienic and loud chaotic hostel.”
It ends with the advice: “Explained to mum to lock all digestible and sharps in a box under lock and key.”
Sitting in the cramped room where they live, in a building with dozens of other residents, Mary explained how heartbreaking those words were to read.
“I feel as a mother, it’s like I let down my two children,” she said.
She told Sky News how her children ask if they’re moving out every day. She gets up at 4am to ensure she can send her children to school on time and arrive at her job as a care assistant.
A filthy curtain in Mary’s room
Read more from Sky News:
Private renter in England given eviction notice every seven minutes
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The latest statistics from the government revealed 2,680 households with children had been in bed and breakfast accommodation for more than the statutory limit of six weeks. That’s up 121.5% from 30 September 2022 when the number was 1,210.
A short distance away in one room of a smaller converted terraced house, Rose, 21, is studying to become an air traffic controller. Her two daughters, four and one, are getting their toys out of plastic bags piled high in a corner.
This room is all Rose’s youngest daughter Liorra has known. They’ve been living here for a year and 10 months, waiting for the council to find them a permanent home. As a student, private rent in South London is out of the question for Rose.
But she worries constantly about the impact of being homeless on her children and the drug-taking of other residents right outside their room.
Rose’s youngest daughter has only ever known living in a single room with her family
She said: “If my window’s open, everything comes in here, or they will just be blasting music and doing whatever they’re doing. And my kids are trying to sleep, but they can’t sleep.”
Croydon Council did not comment on the cases of Mary and Rose after being approached by Sky News. Instead, a spokesperson said: “Like other London councils, we are facing increasing demand for affordable accommodation.
“Unfortunately, this means that there are not always permanent homes available for families as quickly as we would like.”
One reason families are losing homes is landlords being forced to sell. The government promised to ban so-called no fault evictions, yet they’re happening at a growing rate.
A no fault eviction is when a landlord uses Section 21 of the Housing Act to notify a tenant that they have to leave without having to provide an explicit reason.
The number of households at risk of losing their homes under Section 21 notices rose to 25,180 in the year ending September 2023, according to government figures released last Thursday.
Terri evicted a family after she began losing money on her property
Terri is a landlady who had to evict a young family from a house in West Sussex after she began losing money.
She blames the economy, explaining: “The mortgage payments were £154 a month. They’ve now gone to £700 a month. The result of this is, sadly, I had to make a young mother and two young children a no fault eviction and they’ve had to leave the property.
Terri has a family of her own, and sympathises with how difficult it is to find a property.
“It’s actually broken my heart to do it. But at the end of the day, I’ve also got bills to pay myself and children to support.”
Additional reporting by Nick Stylianou, Communities producer and Sarah O’Connell, specialist producer.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
Davina McCall has said her short-term memory is “a bit remiss” as she recovers from brain tumour surgery.
Speaking from her bed, the visibly emotional TV presenter posted a short video updating her Instagram followers on her condition, saying it had been a “mad” time.
She expressed an “enormous heartfelt thank you” to people who had messaged her after she revealed this month she had a benign brain tumour, a colloid cyst, which she described as “very rare”.
Looking bright, but with a visibly bruised left eye, McCall said: “My short-term memory is a bit remiss.
“But that is something I can work on, so I’m really happy about that. I’m writing everything down, to keep myself feeling safe.”
She added: “It’s been mad, and it’s just really nice to be back home, I’m on the other side.”
In a message posted with the video, she reiterated her thanks for all the support she has received, adding: “Had a great night’s sleep in my own bed. Have a couple of sleeps during the day which keeps my brain clear… Slowly, slowly…”
When she first shared her diagnosis, she said chances of having it were “three in a million” and that she had discovered it several months previously after a company offered her a health scan in return for giving a menopause talk.
The 57-year-old star said support from her fans had “meant the world”.
She said she was being “brilliantly looked after” by her partner, hairdresser Michael Douglas, and her stepmother, Gabby, who she calls mum.
Becoming tearful, the presenter said: “I’d quickly like to say big up the stepmums. I don’t really say thank you to Gabby enough. She’s been an amazing rock my whole life.”
McCall was estranged from her birth mother, Florence McCall, who died in 2008.
McCall with 2002 Big Brother winner Kate Lawler. Pic: Rex Features
With a catch in her voice, McCall went on: “I’ve got a massive dose of vitamin G – I’m just really grateful. I’ve always been really lucky in my life, but I feel unbelievably grateful right now. So, thanks for everything, all of you.
“I’m on the mend, I’m resting and sleeping loads and I feel really good. I’m just very lucky.”
Stars including presenter Alison Hammond, singer Craig David and radio host Zoe Ball quickly shared their delight at the positive update.
McCall rose to fame presenting on MTV in the mid-1990s, and later on Channel 4’s Streetmate, before becoming a household name as the host of Big Brother from 2000 to 2010.
McCall with her MBE, alongside her partner Michael Douglas and her daughter Holly Robertson. Pic: PA
She’s gone on to present programmes across the networks, the most recent being ITV dating show My Mum, Your Dad.
Last year, McCall was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting.
Married twice, McCall has three children, two daughters and a son, with her second husband, presenter Matthew Robertson.
She has lived with Douglas since 2022, and they present a weekly lifestyle podcast together, Making The Cut.
UK
UK weather: How long will rainy and windy conditions last – and is another storm already on the way?
Storm Bert continues to cause chaos in the UK, but just how long is heavy rain and wind expected to batter the country?
The Met Office says Storm Bert will start to “slowly pull away” from the UK on Monday, meaning an unsettled start to the day.
A yellow weather warning remains in place for northern parts of Scotland.
It warns of heavy downpours, especially over higher ground, where accumulations of 50-70mm are expected. The warning is in place until midnight.
Storm Bert latest: Follow live updates
In central Scotland, wind speeds of 50-60mph are likely, and gusts up to 70mph could be felt near the coast and on exposed bridges.
Met Office chief meteorologist Andy Page said that while the risk of snowfall had now diminished, rainfall would “affect much of the UK”.
Frequent showers are expected in Northern Ireland, northern England, Wales and the West Country, with the heaviest expected in southwestern parts of England and South Wales.
Mr Page said weather warnings “could still be amended” and possibly at short notice, and urged people to “keep up to date with the very latest forecast”.
Sky News meteorologist Christopher England warns there could be a risk of hail and thunder in northern Scotland, at the start of the week.
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Storm Bert causes flooding in Wales
As of Monday morning, there were hundreds of flood warnings and alerts in place. Three of those – two in Wales and one in England – were “severe warnings”.
A further 160 flood warnings and more than 200 flood alerts were issued by the Environment Agency in England, and eight flood warnings and 23 flood alerts in place in Wales at the time of writing.
Bert to clear UK by Tuesday
By Tuesday, Storm Bert will finally clear the UK, the Met Office said, bringing with it “quieter weather for many”.
However, parts of the country may not be without rain or wind for long, as the forecaster says strong gusts and rainfall could start again on Tuesday night and into Wednesday.
Check the forecast in your area
“How long the more settled conditions last is uncertain, with rain probably returning to westernmost areas at least by the end of the week,” the Met Office website says.
Chris England adds: “Wednesday will bring strong winds and a spell of heavy rain across the south, while the north looks mostly fine after a frosty and foggy start in places.
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Woman loses umbrella to Storm Bert
“Thursday looks cool again, but mostly fine. Friday will be milder, with outbreaks of rain likely over Ireland, Northern Ireland and north-west Scotland.”
He says going into the weekend, Saturday “looks cloudy and breezy in the north and west, with a little rain possible at times”.
When could the next named storm be?
Storm Bert was the second named storm of the season after Storm Ashley brought similar wet and windy conditions towards the end of October.
Although it cannot be known for sure when the next storm will be, the Met Office already knows it will be referred to as Storm Conall. The forecaster names storms in alphabetical order.
It says it only names a storm when it has the “potential to cause disruption or damage which could result in an amber or red warning” and according to its long range forecast, this could be as soon as next month.
It says that between 9 and 23 December, “there are signs” there will be wetter and windier interludes with a risk of snow, adding: “These conditions look more likely to dominate towards the middle of December.”
Whether this will be strong enough for a storm to be named remains unknown.
Microsoft has said it is “investigating an issue” after users reported problems with Outlook and Teams.
In a post on X, Microsoft 365 Status said: “We’re investigating an issue impacting users attempting to access Exchange Online or functionality within Microsoft Teams calendar.”
Microsoft Exchange Online is a platform for business communication that has a mail server and cloud apps for email, contacts, and calendars.
Down Detector, a website that tracks outages, said problems started at approximately 8am on Monday morning.
It said 87% of reported problems involved Outlook, when the email application is accessed through the web.
Microsoft error message appearing on Outlook
Other reported problems, according to Down Detector, included connection to the server and logging in.
Users from the UK and around, Europe took to social media to report they were having problems accessing the platform.
One user wrote: “When you need to check an important mail, but #outlook decides to not work…”
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While another added: “Here in Belgium mainly issues with tracking of e-mail in Dynamics 365. Inbound and outbound in Outlook still work.”
Microsoft directed affected users to its admin centre, a page that is intended for those who have access to business networks and other professionals who manage IT networks. The page requires a login.
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