Benefits mum of four, 33, and her 71-year-old husband accuse housing association of ‘neglecting’ them by refusing a free house extension
Whinging Nicola Philpot says her three-bed house is becoming cramped
A BENEFITS mum of four and her 71-year-old husband say they feel "neglected" because a housing association is refusing to build them a free home extension.
Whinging Nicola Philpot, 33, and pensioner Joe, say their three-bed house is becoming cramped and they want more space.
Nicola was a 15-year-old schoolgirl when she met unemployed ex-plumber Joe, then aged 54 and a divorced father-of-three.
They moved in together a few days after her 16th birthday, she had their first child the following year and they married when she was 18.
They moved to their present family home in Chigwell, Essex, in 2004 when they had three young children.
Now they have another daughter, four-year-old Lily Rose, who sleeps on a mattress in their already cramped bedroom.
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Nicola does not want the older children Kody, 12, Thomas, 13, and Felicity, 16 to share rooms because Thomas is autistic and needs his own space.
She said: "We have asked them to extend the place because it needs a stable environment for my kids.
"We were told when we moved in that we were able to have an extension if we wanted.
"We won't move because we like it here and it would be difficult for us anyway because of my health problems.
"If we were forced to move it would put too much stress on me.
"Obviously my little girl will be five at the end of the year and she can't stay in my room for ever."
The family home has a bathroom, a lounge area and a kitchen and their rent is paid by housing benefits.
Kody and Thomas share a room, while Felicity has a "box room" to herself.
Nicola suffers from the kidney disease loin pain haematuria syndrome, which she says leaves her with chronic pain and means she is unable to get up the stairs.
Nicola said: "I'm not looking to move because of my illness and my son's autism but I don't know what sort of extension we want to be honest.
"Houses are lifetime homes and these ones are meant for people with disabilities and health problems.
"The housing association haven't offered to help in any other way.
"We had three children when we moved in but now it's cramped."
Nicola says housing association Circle Housing turned down her request for an extension because she would likely move in five years anyway.
She says if a stair lift was put in she would be "more than happy because it would make my life so much easier."
Circle Housing said: "It is our policy to ensure that any adaptations are the best solution for the tenant.
"We have given consent for the stair lift to be installed as requested and expect it to be carried out shortly."
Three years ago the couple said they planned to renew their wedding vows after proving critics wrong over their 38-year age gap, which means people often assume Joe is their kids' grandad.
Nicola, then 29, said: “A lot of people didn’t agree with our relationship. When we first went out, people would call Joe names — like paedophile.
“My family stopped talking to me and all but one of Joe’s children cut all ties with him. It caused a huge rift but I’d never been so happy in my life.
“Even though Joe’s more than double my age, he’s so full of energy.
“He might have ten teeth missing and a bit of a pot belly, but he’s absolutely gorgeous to me.”
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