House hell sees family travel from Lowestoft to Felixstowe

Mum-of-two Lauryn Ellis said that her family has been going through “absolute hell” since they were given notice to leave their home in Felixstowe earlier this year.

East Suffolk Council has said that it strives to keep families as close to their communities as possible, but may need to offer accommodation further away than desired if demand is high.

Miss Ellis and her partner, Liam Walker, turned to the council for assistance in finding somewhere to live after their private landlord decided to sell the property in April, giving them notice to leave by June 21.

As Mr Walker runs his own carpentry business in Felixstowe, where their two young sons Lake and Arlee also attend school, it was agreed that they would be found a home no more than an hour’s drive away.

Lauryn and Liam pictured with their children, Arlee, aged four, and three-year-old Lake. (Image: Lucy Taylor)

They were first found a room at the Kingsley House Hotel in Ipswich. However, this proved unsuitable as the presence of dogs caused the children’s allergies to flare up. The family also raised concerns there was also no childproofing on the windows of their third-floor room.

The family was given a temporary extension on their home in Felixstowe, during which time they continued to pay the £1,000 monthly rent.

A flat was then found for them in Lowestoft, an hour and 15 minutes away. However, this experience has left the family shaken.

“There were police and emergency services there every day. It was traumatising for my children,” said Miss Ellis. “We had people screaming and shouting through the windows, trying to entice my little boys outside, punching the windows and threatening to stab my partner.”

The police were called, and the family were able to stay with Miss Elis’s mother for a time. They have since been found new accommodation, again in Lowestoft.

However, the 107 mile round trip journey they complete for work and school is pushing them to breaking point, with Miss Ellis describing their situation as having been “absolute hell”.

“We haven’t got the money to be travelling that far every day,” she said.

Mr Walker is having to work reduced hours as a result of needing to drive his sons to and from school, an hour and a half journey each way.

After having spent five years building up his business, the stress of this has been affecting his mental health.

The family prepare to leave their home in Lowestoft at 7am for school and work. (Image: Lauryn Ellis) The temp home in Lowestoft where the family were threatened. (Image: Lauryn Ellis) Liam and Lauryn worry about the effect this ongoing situation is having on their children. (Image: Lucy Taylor)

They are also worried about the effect this is having on their children.

“We didn’t want to move them to a different school – they’ve already had so much upheaval in their lives,” explained Miss Ellis.

The family also have no idea how long they will need to remain in Lowestoft, as they hope to return to Felixstowe as soon as possible.  

“Every time we go home, they’re saying, ‘Mummy, I don’t want to go to Lowestoft,’” Miss Ellis continued. “They are so traumatised by what happened. They now see it as a dangerous place and they’re petrified to be there.”

An East Suffolk Council spokesperson said: “East Suffolk Council has a duty under the Housing Act 1996 (as amended by the Homeless Reduction Act 2017) to provide interim accommodation for eligible households when homeless.

“All households placed in temporary accommodation receive support from our Housing Needs Team and Temporary Accommodation Officers.

"In a small number of cases, where demand is particularly high, we may have to offer temporary accommodation further away than desired in the short term.

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"Our officers will always try to keep families as close as possible to their existing communities, and we will continue to work with families placed outside of their area of preference to find more suitable alternative accommodation.

“We will always investigate and attempt to address all incidents reported by anyone placed in temporary accommodation as soon as possible.”