CREDIT CRUNCH: Hardworking family forced to live in car.

(From The Star (Sheffield))

Four-month pregnant Laura Whitney, aged 28, her partner Richard Webster, 32, and children Jessica, seven, and Jack, two, have spent the last fortnight crammed into a Vauxhall Vectra after being forced from their Batemoor maisonette. The couple could no longer pay their GBP62,500 mortgage, which has an interest rate of 10.9 per cent, because their sub-prime lender increased payments from GBP373 a month to GBP553. Laura said her young family had not been given priority for rehousing by Sheffield Council because they were deemed "intentionally homeless". And they were turned down for private-rented housing because the repossession gave them a bad credit rating. Have you been hit by the credit crunch? What do you think of the situation facing South Yorkshire families? Add your comment below.Laura said: "We've been living in the car for two weeks because relatives can't accommodate us all and we don't want to be split up. We are making do with tinned food and stopping outside different relatives' houses, who let us use their facilities and wash our clothes. "All we need is a home. We're willing to pay full rent and don't want a council tax rebate. Richard works full time as a driver for Royal Mail. I was working managing a card shop and will be happy to work again." CREDIT CRUNCH: How to spot the problem and what to doCREDIT CRUNCH: How the family cope with life in a carThe couple had to take a sub-prime mortgage because Laura was on her previous husband's mortgage and would have been forced to pay a fee to have her name removed. Richard ...