An army veteran has been sleeping in his allotment shed after he and his wife were forced to leave their rented home.
Tony Squirrell, 74, said it had been terrible to be apart from his wife, Joan, 64, and claimed that criminals were given better accommodation than they were offered when they were made homeless.
He said: “I have been to war and seen some horrible things but nothing has taken its toll on me like this. I was in the army so I’ve slept in worse, and I take things in my stride. But it’s my wife I’m worried about.
“Veterans in our society are not treated well. In America they do such a lot for them but here we get nothing.”
The Squirrells, who have lived in Bridgwater, Somerset, for more than 40 years, were forced to leave their rented home five weeks ago because the landlord wanted to sell.
About 1,700 people are on the housing list of Sedgemoor district council, which is Conservative-controlled. The Squirrells were among the 36 placed in the gold – high priority – band.
The council offered the couple an emergency housing place. But Squirrell said: “We went to have a look and when I looked through the window, I took one look at the beds and thought: ‘My wife isn’t sleeping on that.’
“We’re not criminals but they’re treating us worse – if we had gone out and robbed a bank we would have better beds and three meals a day.”
Joan added: “It was disgusting. There were stains all over the mattresses and we would have had to share a bathroom with other people.”
The council also offered to help set them up in rented accommodation but the couple believe this will be too expensive and worry they may be moved on again.
The Squirrells had lived in a two-bedroom house in Bridgwater for three and a half years, until they had to move out at the end of April. They were previously living in a retirement home, also in Bridgwater.
Their daughter, Tracey Snow, said: “They have spent all their savings on rented accommodation over the past five years. They haven’t got any money left, they can’t rent privately anymore.”
Snow said the couple were paying approximately £565 a month for their most recent home, and £500 a month for their previous home. She said: “They have spent so much money on renting, it’s ridiculous. And it’s going to be worse now, because renting prices have gone up.
“Mum still works part-time [at a medical supply firm] in Taunton. She’s got to the stage now where she wants to retire, but with this going on at the moment she feels she can’t.”
Joan finds it hard to climb stairs due to a lung condition, but the council says it has very few bungalows on its books. She moved in with their son but her husband, who served with the Royal Corps of Transport, bedded down in his shed. He spent four nights there before the charity Help 4 Homeless Veterans found him temporary accommodation.
“The veterans’ charity have done more for us in 24 hours than the council has done in months,” said Squirrell.
Help 4 Homeless Veterans has found a room at a bed and breakfast for the couple, but it is only available until Monday.
Sedgemoor council said it had worked hard to help the couple. “At present, the council does not have any empty one-bedroom bungalows; there is a severe shortage of council-owned bungalows,” a spokeswoman said.
“We have lost a lot of council-owned property under the right-to-buy scheme and, with funding regulation, we are unable to replace these homes. We have 1,700 active applications on the housing register with many being elderly and vulnerable.
“Temporary accommodation has been made available to Mr and Mrs Squirrell, which they have refused. We have also offered help to secure privately rented accommodation in a location of their own choice, which they have refused.
“We will continue to work with Mr and Mrs Squirrell to help them secure a solution to their housing needs.”