I'm hoping by next Christmas I'll have somewhere to live

Mum faces plight affecting thousands this festive season

- ETHAN DAVIES

THIS year, Vickie Fitzsimons only has a three-foot Christmas tree. It's tucked away in a corner, without any decorations.

It's going to be 'the worst' Christmas she's ever had, she says. That's because Vickie, and her three youngest children, are homeless.

They're staying in temporary accommodation above a pub in Trafford. There, she says, rain drips into the property and mould cakes the walls - although Trafford council say the landlord has treated it repeatedly following her complaint.

Vickie and her children have been there for months, and they don't know when they'll get a long-term home. Vickie hopes it will be 'by next Christmas, but there are no guarantees. She is not the only one.

In Trafford, she's one of 8,000 people waiting for social housing. In the north west, her children are among the nearly 9,000 kids that will be homeless on December 25 this year.

Last year, the figure was nearly a third lower. It's why housing charity Shelter says 'the housing emergency is out of control.

In a special report, the M.E.N. shines a light on the reality 18,800 people in our region are facing: A Christmas without a home.

'I ended up in hospital because I got hives from the stress'

Vickie's nightmare started just before Christmas last year, when her landlord in Bolton wanted to increase her rent by a quarter. 'He was firm that he needed the extra, Vickie told the M.E.N.

The new figure was £1,000 per month, up from £800. But the family's housing benefit wasn't going to increase, so Vickie couldn't pay the rent. In the spring, she was given a section 21 eviction notice.