Disabled Woman Sleeping In Her Car Because Of #BedroomTax

A disabled woman says she is sleeping in her car on country lanes after losing her six-month protest against the so-called bedroom tax.

Angela Wilmott, 44, who has arthritis, heart disease, diabetes and epilepsy, is being chased by a debt collector over the £430 she owes former landlord Acis.

Mrs Wilmott, who uses a wheelchair, said she moved from a two-bedroom house in Lincoln to a two-bedroom bungalow in Harvey Kent Gardens, Bardney, because it would suit her needs better.

But after refusing to pay the £12-per-week spare room subsidy, she says she was evicted in December.

Mrs Wilmott, who receives disability living allowance and employment and support allowance, said: “I refused to pay the bedroom tax because I said I wanted a second bedroom. With my health as it is, I can’t always get to sleep but Paul needs his sleep because he’s my full-time carer so we sometime need to be in separate rooms.

“I admit I have caused the problem we’re in by refusing to pay the extra money – but I did so out of principle.

“The bedroom tax is unfair and does not take into account why you might need a second bedroom.

“We can only spend so much time at relatives’ homes because it can affect their benefits and so we’ve been parking up at night in country lanes.

“None of this is doing us any good – we just want somewhere to live.”

Acis told the Echo that payment cards were sent to Mrs Wilmott’s address on at least four occasions and she was also given advice on direct debit and other payment options.

Paul Wisher, new business and development manager at Acis, said: “We feel we responded appropriately to the concerns and had a number of telephone calls with her and visited the property on a number of occasions.

“We did as much as we reasonably could to work with this lady on her rent payment.”