Suffolk couple sleeping in their Audi A4 car at Bawdsey

Clint Jagroo and his wife Michelle are staying in their Audi A4 at Bawdsey Quay following difficulties they had at their previous, privately-rented home in Alderton in the aftermath of Mrs Jagroo suffering a stroke.

The landlord of the three bedroom home issued a section 21 Notice Requiring Possession (NRP) due to the rent arrears and the couple, including their two teenage children, left two days before the notice period ended.

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East Suffolk Council subsequently placed them in temporary accommodation at Kingsley House Hotel in Ipswich, but they left at the end of September and are now sleeping in the car, although the children are staying with friends.

Mr Jagroo said the couple had a Calor gas stove they were using to cook and make drinks, while they could also use public toilets nearby and they had wet wipes to clean themselves.

Clint and Michelle Jagroo are currently sleeping in the back of the Audi A4 (Image: Charlotte Bond)They also had to deal with the weather in their car and Mr Jagroo was concerned about the forthcoming Storm Babet, which is set to bring heavy rain and 40mph winds to the area late this week.

"We would like a shower and somewhere to sleep, but where do we do that? We have got nowhere to go," Mr Jagroo said.

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The painter and decorator, who originally comes from London, has lived in Suffolk for 20 years, but had difficulty finding work during the COVID-19 pandemic when households went into lockdown.

Mrs Jagroo said they had fallen into rent arrears following her health issues.

A spokesperson for East Suffolk Council said they have "tried incredibly hard to help the family".

They said: “Mr and Mrs Jagroo approached East Suffolk Council for homelessness assistance in December of last year, having been issued with an eviction notice by their landlord, for rent arrears.

“We will always seek to help anyone in this situation and we placed them in temporary accommodation while speaking with their landlord.

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"However, our efforts were severely hampered by the failure of the family to provide us any evidence of income or expenditure to aid negotiation, despite numerous requests.

“We are also aware that they claimed Universal Credit, including the Housing Element, but did not pass this on to the landlord. 

“We subsequently completed a thorough assessment which showed that the property was affordable and that they had a surplus income after rent, bills, travel and other household living expenses.

“Citizens Advice were also consulted and confirmed that the property and rental level was affordable.  

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"Therefore, a decision was taken that the family had made themselves ‘intentionally homeless’ and they were given four weeks’ notice to leave our temporary accommodation. 

“The family then submitted a request for a review and we agreed to accommodate them further, pending its outcome.

“The review was passed to Housing Reviews, a well-respected independent team of specialist homelessness experts.  

"They also concluded that the family had made themselves intentionally homeless. Following this, the family were advised and a referral was made to social services. 

“We make every possible effort to support people threatened with homelessness and we have tried incredibly hard to help the family. 

“We have even offered them financial assistance to help secure private rented accommodation and this offer still stands.

“However, throughout this process, they have repeatedly failed to provide information requested and have chosen not to engage with us despite numerous attempts to contact them.”