Episode 5 The Housing Enforcers


Episode 5

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Transcript


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The law says everyone has the right to a safe place to live.

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-Seen those flies?

-Yeah.

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But for thousands of people across Britain,

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the reality can be more hovel than home.

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Just vermin, vermin, filth.

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Ooooh!

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It's not me, it was the landlord.

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In the battle between tenants and landlords,

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it's local housing officers who are on the front line.

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-Yes?

-We're coming in.

-No, no.

-The police are...

-Excuse me.

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I'm Matt Allwright.

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I'm trying to understand how the property

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could be in this condition while rent is still coming in.

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I'm back on the job,

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once again joining the ranks of the housing enforcers.

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Smells like pee.

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This is somebody's playground.

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They're tackling problem properties...

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It just feels like a time bomb.

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..dealing with the consequences of nightmare neighbours...

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He called me a BLEEP.

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..and doing their best to help those in need.

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We can stand here and look at the very rich people looking back down.

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Today, one housing officer is getting a whiff of deja vu.

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How many months ago was it we had this place cleaned?

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-I know, I...

-Look at the state of your kitchen.

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And I meet one council tenant

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who hopes her new home will change her life.

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In six months' time, what would you like to have happened?

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To get off drugs and be a mum again.

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I just want to be a mum.

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They say an Englishman's home is his castle,

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but if that place is rented, it's the job of housing officers

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to make sure it's a decent place to live.

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The keep an eye on landlords to make sure the property

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is up to scratch, and on some tenants to make sure

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they're keeping their half of the bargain.

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Empty dwelling management orders, compulsory purchases,

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possession orders and evictions -

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I'm learning that local authorities have got a whole host

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of legal powers to deal with recalcitrant owners and tenants.

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If you do evict somebody, then, you know, as a council,

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you've still got the duty to house them somewhere. So...

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If they get evicted, they will eventually go full circle

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and come back to have a council property.

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In the interim period, yes, it may well be

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that they have to get picked up as homeless,

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put in bed-and-breakfast or something like that.

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But ultimately, they will end up back with us.

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Here in Babergh, Suffolk,

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I'm also learning that enforcement isn't always the answer,

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even when a problem council tenant is testing the patience

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of a community housing officer like Ian Watson.

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One of the problems that we have with our tenants is

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some people don't keep their house particularly clean and tidy.

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It is part of the tenancy agreement,

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but some people are not quite as tidy as others.

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Today, Ian is on his way to visit a council tenant

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who's been on his problem list for a while.

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We're going to a little village called Lavenham.

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I do have to say, in general terms,

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most of our council tenants do look after their properties,

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do keep them in good order, but you get the odd one or two

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that have got different lifestyles, so to speak.

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This tenant has been here for around 20 years,

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but Ian wants to talk to him

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about fresh complaints from the neighbours.

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HE KNOCKS ON DOOR

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The first problem is to actually find him.

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Let me go round the front.

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I will try, unless he's asleep.

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Howie?

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I shouldn't really go in,

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but I do have a little bit of concern that he might be in the bedroom.

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As the door's unlocked, I really should secure it.

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Alistair!

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Eventually, Ian obtains his elusive customer - Alistair Howe,

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85 years old, and a long-term council tenant.

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Now, I will tell you here and now,

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I've been here today, I was concerned, all right?

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Your front door was not locked. It's not shut.

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I know, but I couldn't get any response.

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-The dog wasn't even barking or anything.

-I was in the bedroom.

-No.

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-Well, I had to go in, Ali.

-Did you?

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Yeah, I did, because I thought you might have been lying on the floor.

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-Oh, very kind of you.

-You know what I mean, all right?

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Considering your age and everything.

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But the other thing I need to speak to you about is inside again.

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-I know, but can't do everything.

-Can we go and have a look?

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18 months ago, the council spent £2,000

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and brought in a local charity to help clean up Ali's flat.

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But Ian has had worrying reports from the neighbours

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about the condition and the smell.

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-Now, Ali...

-So, what do you want to say?

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How many months ago was it we had this place cleaned?

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I don't know.

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You know, we had everything out the bedroom, the lot, didn't we?

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There's been a lot of stuff been chucked in here.

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-Yeah, I know, but look at it.

-The dog's...

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Well, the dog never barked when I came in first time.

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As I say, I was more concerned you were lying on the floor.

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Good old boy.

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-But Howie, I mean, look.

-I know...

-Look at the state of your kitchen.

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I know, and I...

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You know?

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I've got... I've got to get cooking...

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-I know, but we had all this steam cleaned.

-I know!

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Well...

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Howie, I thought we'd steam cleaned all this bath?

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-Oh. Did what?

-We'd steam cleaned all this bath and toilet.

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Yeah, but look at the state of your bathroom again.

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I can't be here and everywhere.

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Are you going to move, or what are you going to do?

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-Cos I want to get some grub cooked.

-You want to get some grub.

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Well, look, you've got my number.

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I'm going to come back and see you in a fortnight,

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-all right?

-You will. You sure?

-Yes.

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And I expect to see it a little bit cleaner.

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-You need to make an effort yourself.

-Well, what I was going to do,

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I want to get a skip in and chuck everything in the skip.

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DOG BARKS

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-I can't supply you with another skip at this stage.

-You can't?

-No.

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Because you ought to be keeping control of what you've got here.

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You know?

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Ali may be happy living like this, but Ian knows he has to act,

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for the sake of the property, the neighbours, and Ali himself.

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As you can see, he's not looking after himself. I can't...

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He won't engage with social services or anybody.

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It's quite frustrating,

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because we paid quite a lot of money last time to have this cleared up.

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But as I said before we came out here, he seems to survive very well.

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He's sprightly enough,

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and his health doesn't seem to be that bad.

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I don't think that I could be the same

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under the same set of circumstances, unfortunately,

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but I'll come back in a couple of weeks and we'll try and start again.

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Pork chop, look.

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Ten minutes, that'll be done.

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So, will Ali cooperate,

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or is he drinking in a last chance saloon?

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-I want to be left alone, mate.

-Right. Yeah, yeah.

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Salford in Manchester

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is one of the country's most deprived inner-city areas.

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Being a housing officer here means often dealing with

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vulnerable people, and that requires special skills.

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Vicky Fitton has worked in this borough for 13 years.

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Today, she's on her way to visit Donna,

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a drug-addicted mother who's keen to be rehoused.

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You never quite know what you're walking into with Donna.

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We tend to be dealing with other issues or at crisis point,

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as opposed to housing issues,

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so you're never sure what you're walking into.

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I don't know how to cope.

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I've been on drugs more than I've been off drugs.

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I started at the age of 14. I'm 35 now.

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She does have quite complex needs.

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There's mental health,

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debt, drugs, there are other things that we...

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We really need to get her out of there to get her somewhere safe,

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and then we can address all the other issues.

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It's a vicious circle I've got into.

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I don't know how to live without drugs.

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And it's only amphetamines and weed,

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but it's still bad enough to get your kids took.

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There's nothing worse than being a mum who's had their kids took,

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and classed as one of them mums.

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Donna's addiction resulted in the authorities

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removing her two young daughters to her sister's.

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That's where they've been living for the past 18 months.

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I wasn't bad with my kids. I was a good mum.

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But we all say that. That's what you say,

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because you're that embarrassed. And they take your confidence,

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they take every bit of respect you've got about yourself

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instead of helping you.

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To make matters worse, Donna's fallen badly behind on her rent,

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and because her children no longer live with her,

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she wants to move to a smaller property,

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where she's not constantly reminded of the daughters she's lost.

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And I don't what they're like at night now for going to bed.

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I don't know if they have a story. I don't know anything my kids do.

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I don't know what toys they like, what size shoes they are.

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I had to phone my mum and ask, "Mum, what size?"

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And I should know that, because I'm the mum.

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It's a sad situation, but when Vicky meets her client today,

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she has got something positive to share.

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-Hi.

-Hiya, Donna, you all right?

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How's it going, then, Donna? Everything all right?

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-Going all right, yeah. Yeah. Getting there.

-Excellent.

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Well, I've got a bit of good news.

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Do you remember when Rebecca assessed you

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and we found out that you were in rent arrears?

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Well, I've got confirmation

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that they're going to pay the discretionary housing payment.

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They're going to backdate it to wipe your arrears.

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So that's really, really good news. All your rent arrears are gone.

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With the slate wiped clean,

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the most pressing thing now is to find Donna somewhere new

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to live away from an area where she feels she's being harassed.

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-To be honest, we need to get you off this street, don't we?

-Yeah.

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Yeah, we need to get you off the street. Because you're not safe.

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And the recent black eye is another cause for concern.

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I was getting through the window and I slipped and...

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-Yeah?

-Yeah.

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You do know that you can ring me if you need any help

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or you need safety?

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-Yeah, yeah, I know that.

-Yeah?

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It's been the most hardest two years of my life. But I done it.

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Well, like I said, as long as you know that if you do need us

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or you do need to be put somewhere, we can sort that out for you, Donna.

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-There's no need to sit here and be afraid.

-No, I know, I know.

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But when they take your kids, it's like, I don't care,

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cos it's the worst pain you could ever think.

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-Yeah, you need to block it out.

-Yeah.

-Nobody can blame you,

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and nobody can understand what you've gone through, Donna.

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Let's get yourself sorted, healthy, confident

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and then you can be the best mum that you possibly can be.

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It might take time, but Vicky's optimistic

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that Donna's situation is about to change for the better.

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She's definitely more positive since we became involved

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and the rent arrears have gone

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and the registration on Salford Home Search is up and running.

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It's that little glimmer of hope that she can cling to

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and, fingers crossed, we'll be able to get sorted out.

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Coming up, Donna's future is looking a lot brighter.

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I am dead excited, though, you know?

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I feel like, God, I shouldn't be this excited.

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Here in Babergh in Suffolk,

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85-year-old Ali Howe has been a council tenant for over 20 years.

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But in recent years, the condition of his flat

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has been a major worry for housing officer Ian Watson.

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How many months ago was it we had this place cleaned?

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I don't know.

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You know, we had everything out the bedroom, the lot, didn't we?

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Today, Ian's going back to see if he can work out a solution with Ali.

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I don't expect there to be any change

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from the last time that we were there. The trouble is,

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he's, as I said, 85 years old.

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He's set in his ways. It's his lifestyle.

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Today, Ian's brought in reinforcements once again.

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Let's just hope Ali is there this time.

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-Good morning.

-Watch your step.

-Yeah, I know. Yeah.

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Looks like they're already here, and they've got their work cut out.

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It's pretty much how it was before.

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Once again, Ian's enlisted the help of Emma, David

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and Matthew, from local company Stepping Stones, who specialise

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in providing support for vulnerable people in their homes,

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to assess just how much work Ali's flat needs.

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The whole thing took three...

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About 46 hours, all in all.

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So it's about three days' work.

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Cleaning out the fridge as well, just to make that sanitary,

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cos it's not. We would make sure everything is sanitary for him.

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While Stepping Stones assess the state of the flat,

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Ian's trying to pin down his elusive tenant.

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If I can't get hold of you, I can't arrange anything.

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Right? But you imagine the amount of time

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that I have to spend trying to get hold of you to make arrangements.

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That takes my time up, just trying to get a hold.

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So if you can get your phone working and tell me what the number is,

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at least I'd be able to ring you, wouldn't I?

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A big part of the housing officer's job is trying to help

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those tenants who just don't want to be helped.

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Obviously it definitely needs to be a lot more sanitary than this.

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It's definitely not smelling too pretty, is it?

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HE LAUGHS

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If we cleared this all up for you,

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how would we be able to help you maintain it

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so it wouldn't get back to this again?

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-Well, get somebody to come in and help me.

-What, on a regular basis?

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-Yeah.

-Once a week? Something like that.

-Something like that. That would help you

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-keep on top of this?

-I reckon so.

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As sympathetic as Ian is,

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he also has the other tenants to think about,

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as well as the condition of the council housing stock.

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This can't go on.

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Not just for your sake, but for the neighbours' sake, all right?

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-There's nothing wrong with...

-I know what YOU think, but OK...

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But we're prepared to do it again, all right?

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But you're going to have to manage it afterwards.

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We can't come back again.

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How are you getting on with all of this?

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-Are you?

-Yeah.

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What is it you is it you don't like about this? Cos everybody's...

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Poor old boy, you know what I mean?

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'Talking to Ali, I don't think it's sunk in with him

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'just how much enforcement power the council has,

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'but for Ian, eviction isn't the answer -

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'not yet, anyway.'

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Anyway, big improvement already?

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-Yeah? You happier?

-I'm always happy.

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-I mean, we are, we are looking at dog muck, aren't we?

-We are.

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-On almost every ground surface.

-In the washing machine.

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Dog muck around the washing machine and inside.

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I've just had to wipe it all out. But, you know, all done now.

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The main thing is to sanitise everything with bleach.

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I mean, there's certain things you're going to make a difference with

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and certain things not, ie, the paint on the walls and that -

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that's never going to look clean, is it?

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But certainly the sanitation of the toilet and sink is...

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You can see the toilet.

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That's it. Before, this morning, you couldn't.

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Wow, what a difference.

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If you looked at it on paper, you'd see, oh, you know,

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this is a troublesome tenant - when you meet Ali, he's lovely.

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He's a great guy.

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He's got real joy about him, and it's not somebody you could

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ever really dream of putting out on the street or evicting.

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-It just doesn't...

-No.

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That doesn't work when you bring in that human aspect of it

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and you meet the guy face-to-face.

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Exactly, and he's a likeable character, regardless, so...

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But, yeah, hopefully we'll get somewhere.

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He is, as they say in Suffolk, a good old boy.

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Fingers crossed this time he'll keep his flat clean.

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Allerdale in Cumbria.

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It's an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

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in the heart of the Lake District.

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But beneath the picturesque patchwork of lakes,

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valleys and fells lies something a bit more sinister.

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Environmental health technician Rachel Carr is on the way

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to meet a home owner who's had issues with his water supply.

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Going to just do some routine water testing.

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It does normally pass for bacteria and things like that,

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but we have had a few problems with arsenic.

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That's right, crime fiction fans, she said "arsenic".

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As soon as people hear arsenic, it's like, "Oh!"

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But it's naturally occurring in the land.

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Yes, it may be a favourite of murder mystery writers,

0:17:320:17:35

but arsenic is actually an element found in rocks, soil and sediment.

0:17:350:17:39

This part of the Lake District is so remote, many homes

0:17:400:17:43

and businesses don't have a mains water supply.

0:17:430:17:46

Instead, they source their water from the fells,

0:17:470:17:50

but there can be arsenic in the ground,

0:17:500:17:53

and in high doses it can make the water toxic and difficult to treat.

0:17:530:17:57

When we get problems with bacteria in the water, we do advise

0:17:580:18:00

that you boil the water to kill any bacteria,

0:18:000:18:03

but you can't achieve that with arsenic.

0:18:030:18:05

It's there, and if you boil the water, you're just going to

0:18:050:18:08

concentrate the level that's there.

0:18:080:18:10

With boiling not an option, the water has to be properly filtered.

0:18:110:18:15

If it's not, levels of arsenic can build up in the body

0:18:150:18:18

and increase the risk of kidney failure or even lung cancer.

0:18:180:18:21

-Hi, Rachel, how are you doing?

-Hiya, are you all right?

0:18:280:18:31

-I'm doing champion.

-Good, good. That time of year again.

0:18:310:18:34

Retired builder Alistair lives in a converted mountain shelter

0:18:340:18:37

called a bothy.

0:18:370:18:39

He also shares his water supply with two holiday homes.

0:18:390:18:42

So, your water majors from up on that fell there, doesn't it?

0:18:430:18:46

Our water comes actually from the top of Clough Head.

0:18:460:18:50

We have a spring that comes just slightly over to the side.

0:18:500:18:54

So just about there.

0:18:540:18:56

Well, the whole of the top of the fell kind of supplies

0:18:560:18:59

the aquifer that comes out to the spring.

0:18:590:19:02

The top of Clough Head, it's very craggy here, but once you get

0:19:020:19:05

to the top, it changes quite dramatically,

0:19:050:19:07

it goes into a kind of rolling landscape

0:19:070:19:10

with some quite big peat bogs which, of course, is a big sponge.

0:19:100:19:14

It holds the water, so that really helps preserve

0:19:140:19:17

-our water supply all through the summer.

-Right.

0:19:170:19:21

But a previous water test found

0:19:210:19:22

potentially dangerous levels of arsenic.

0:19:220:19:25

Alistair had to install a special filtration system.

0:19:250:19:28

Here's the equipment, Rach.

0:19:290:19:31

And Rachel needs to check the filter to ensure the water's

0:19:310:19:34

safe for everyone to use.

0:19:340:19:36

The arsenic filter is here.

0:19:360:19:38

It's a sand filter.

0:19:380:19:39

It's quite clever how something so simple as a kind of sand

0:19:390:19:43

can remove arsenic, something so poisonous.

0:19:430:19:46

The system might be simple, but it's not cheap.

0:19:460:19:49

It's quite an expensive arrangement.

0:19:490:19:51

It costs us, between the three of us, about just over three grand.

0:19:510:19:55

If we were private individuals and it was our own home,

0:19:550:19:58

we could opt and say, "We're not bothered, we'll take the arsenic."

0:19:580:20:03

But if there are any visitors, which there are in the other two houses,

0:20:030:20:06

there's a responsibility for them to make sure

0:20:060:20:09

that they provide water that's safe.

0:20:090:20:11

-I think it's the word "arsenic", and people panic, don't they?

-It is.

0:20:110:20:16

For Rachel and the team at the council, when it comes

0:20:160:20:18

to public health issues, it's just not worth taking the risk.

0:20:180:20:22

It's our duty to protect the health of others,

0:20:230:20:26

so if one person might be able to cope with, I don't know,

0:20:260:20:30

E. coli in the system, the next person, a young child,

0:20:300:20:33

it could make them severely ill,

0:20:330:20:35

so what's OK for one person mightn't be for the next.

0:20:350:20:38

To ensure that no arsenic has found its way through the filter,

0:20:400:20:43

Rachel needs to take a range of water samples from the tap.

0:20:430:20:47

-If we just do the heavy metal one first.

-Yeah.

-The cold tap.

0:20:470:20:50

These samples will be sent to the lab.

0:20:500:20:53

If they test positive, it could leave Alastair

0:20:530:20:55

forced to use only bottled water.

0:20:550:20:57

Worse still, the owner of the neighbouring holiday homes

0:20:580:21:02

could find their business seriously affected.

0:21:020:21:05

When someone comes and tells you that you've got a major problem

0:21:050:21:08

and you've got to start doing the research

0:21:080:21:10

and finding out where the problem is and where it might have come from,

0:21:100:21:13

it's quite tough.

0:21:130:21:14

Yes, it's a worrying time for Alistair and his neighbours.

0:21:140:21:18

-Thanks again, Rachel.

-Bye now.

-Bye.

0:21:180:21:21

But since Rachel's inspection, there's been some good news.

0:21:220:21:25

The lab declared the water samples clear of arsenic,

0:21:270:21:30

which means the filtering system is doing its job

0:21:300:21:32

and life in this beautiful part of the Lake District

0:21:320:21:35

can continue as normal.

0:21:350:21:37

I've travelled to Salford to meet a fragile young mum

0:21:470:21:50

who desperately needs to be rehoused.

0:21:500:21:52

It's a vicious circle I've got into.

0:21:520:21:54

I don't know how to live without drugs.

0:21:540:21:56

Before our meeting, housing officer Vicky fills me in

0:21:560:21:59

on just how desperate Donna's circumstances are.

0:21:590:22:02

Donna doesn't have her kids living with her,

0:22:020:22:05

her two daughters any more, so she's still in the property

0:22:050:22:08

that she had the children, which means she's now under-occupying.

0:22:080:22:11

Donna's got some drug issues,

0:22:110:22:13

which means the kids are living with a family relative at the minute.

0:22:130:22:17

Right.

0:22:170:22:18

We've got her registered on Salford Home Search, which she wasn't before,

0:22:180:22:22

so we've got about 11 weeks now to get Donna out of that property.

0:22:220:22:26

'When I meet Donna, I want to know how

0:22:260:22:28

'she's ended up in such dire straits.'

0:22:280:22:31

Can you sort of trace it backwards and work out where the problems

0:22:310:22:36

-that you're experiencing now started from?

-The age of 14.

0:22:360:22:40

Cos I was overweight as a kid,

0:22:400:22:41

I was self-conscious and everything over my weight.

0:22:410:22:45

'Donna says she became overweight after being

0:22:450:22:47

'prescribed strong steroids for her asthma,

0:22:470:22:50

'which then led to her getting teased at school.'

0:22:500:22:53

Someone said, "Have you ever tried the whizz diet?"

0:22:530:22:56

So this is amphetamines taken once a day

0:22:560:22:59

to try and keep the weight off?

0:22:590:23:01

Yeah. It's like a diet tablet.

0:23:010:23:02

'Amphetamines, commonly known as whizz,

0:23:040:23:06

'were once the main ingredient in diet pills

0:23:060:23:09

'because they suppressed the appetite,

0:23:090:23:11

'but prolonged use can lead to panic attacks, depression and paranoia.'

0:23:110:23:15

It's just, to go out in the morning, I need one whizz. That's how I feel.

0:23:150:23:19

And if I don't have it,

0:23:190:23:21

I can't go out, I'm horrible and depressed and...

0:23:210:23:25

just feel fat and everything.

0:23:250:23:27

So what happened? Where did the money come from for that?

0:23:270:23:29

You do everything you must.

0:23:290:23:31

Shoplifting - when my kids went, shoplifting and everything

0:23:310:23:34

just to survive and just to get rid of the pain of losing my kids.

0:23:340:23:38

Is it too much to say that, you know,

0:23:380:23:41

you've run the risk of losing...

0:23:410:23:43

I tried killing myself and everything when my kids went.

0:23:430:23:47

I couldn't handle it. Really couldn't.

0:23:470:23:49

'And remaining in this property is clearly not

0:23:490:23:52

'making things any better.'

0:23:520:23:53

You've been living in this house, then,

0:23:530:23:56

-for 18 months without your children.

-Yeah, and it's been pain.

0:23:560:23:58

But, I mean, everything around you,

0:23:580:24:01

this is like a family home still...

0:24:010:24:05

I found all my daughter's dummies when I came back here.

0:24:050:24:09

Cos I had to voluntarily give them up,

0:24:090:24:11

and I couldn't give them up, I said, "I can't give them up, I can't."

0:24:110:24:15

'It seems like Donna's stuck in the past.

0:24:150:24:17

'She now needs to see that she has a future.'

0:24:170:24:20

OK, let's look forward, let's look past where we are right now,

0:24:200:24:23

and, in six months' time, what would you like to have happened?

0:24:230:24:28

To get off drugs, and to get more contact with my daughters

0:24:280:24:32

and let them stay overnight at my new flat

0:24:320:24:34

and be a mum again. I just want to be a mum.

0:24:340:24:37

Talking to Vicky, it's clear urgent action must be taken,

0:24:400:24:44

and taken soon.

0:24:440:24:46

That's quite heartbreaking, isn't it?

0:24:460:24:48

Everywhere you look, there's signs of the kids,

0:24:480:24:50

and that's 18 months. The kids haven't been back to this property.

0:24:500:24:54

You know, you can see how desperate the need is to get Donna

0:24:540:24:57

out of this property, just for her own mental health.

0:24:570:24:59

Once again, the property is at the base of this,

0:24:590:25:02

right at the root of this problem.

0:25:020:25:05

And trying to give someone a fresh start

0:25:050:25:07

to look at it with different eyes

0:25:070:25:09

requires a change of property, a change of accommodation.

0:25:090:25:14

If Donna was left and she hadn't approached the help,

0:25:140:25:17

six months down the line, she'd have been homeless,

0:25:170:25:21

but I think Donna's at the point that she's got nothing more to lose.

0:25:210:25:24

18 months ago, this was Donna's daughters' bedroom

0:25:260:25:29

in their family home, but because of what she's done,

0:25:290:25:33

Donna admits that was the cause of the family break-up.

0:25:330:25:38

This place is in the past.

0:25:380:25:39

Donna now has to look forward

0:25:390:25:41

and make sure that whatever happens in the future doesn't involve

0:25:410:25:45

drugs and gives her chance to get her daughters back.

0:25:450:25:48

A couple of months later and things are moving forward.

0:25:510:25:55

Today, she moves into a new one-bedroom flat

0:25:550:25:58

which, in turn, will free up her old house

0:25:580:26:00

for a family that needs the space.

0:26:000:26:03

I feel excited to be moving in. It seems dead nice here.

0:26:030:26:06

Housing officer Vicky Fitton is delighted to see her client looking

0:26:070:26:11

healthier and sounding much more upbeat than she has in a long time.

0:26:110:26:15

I am dead excited, though, you know?

0:26:150:26:16

And I feel like, God, I shouldn't be this excited.

0:26:160:26:19

Why? You've had a really tough couple of years. You're due...

0:26:190:26:23

I don't know how I survived it, really, I don't.

0:26:230:26:27

We'll have new memories and we'll have a future plan,

0:26:270:26:30

-instead of the past, dwelling.

-I'm dead chuffed for you.

0:26:300:26:33

And this is the first time in all the time I've been working with you that

0:26:330:26:36

you're actually starting to look to the future and, do you know what?

0:26:360:26:39

That's massive.

0:26:390:26:40

With the new flat comes the chance for Donna

0:26:400:26:42

to put the past behind her and get back on her feet.

0:26:420:26:46

And this is a complete and utter new start.

0:26:460:26:48

-You just promise me you'll work...

-Course I will, I won't let you down.

0:26:480:26:51

..with the drugs team. Yeah? Work with the drugs team?

0:26:510:26:54

Work to get your self sorted.

0:26:540:26:56

And get the girls back, or at least get seeing them a bit more.

0:26:560:26:59

Now she's out of her old house,

0:26:590:27:01

Donna's getting her life back on track.

0:27:010:27:03

She's due to enter a drug rehab programme

0:27:030:27:06

and she's determined to get her children back home again.

0:27:060:27:09

The housing officers at Salford Council have done all they can.

0:27:090:27:13

The rest is up to Donna.

0:27:130:27:14

There's no more feeling intimidated

0:27:160:27:21

and, you know, isolated and targeted.

0:27:210:27:25

I feel good in myself because I got out of it and I'm still here.

0:27:250:27:30

Donna is now enjoying a new start in her new flat.

0:27:360:27:39

Thanks to the council, she's been able to move away

0:27:390:27:42

from the negative memories and associations of the old place.

0:27:420:27:46

She's also due to start rehab very soon.

0:27:460:27:48

Fingers crossed she can continue towards a more positive future

0:27:480:27:53

That's it for today's show.

0:27:570:27:59

Join me next time when I'll be finding out more about

0:27:590:28:02

what it takes to become a front-line housing officer.

0:28:020:28:05

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