A mother's anguish: A 'killer' took my son and now the Bedroom Tax will take my home

After losing her son, Scott, in horrific circumstances Carol Hall now faces the agony of being forced out of her home

After the agony of losing her son in horrific circumstances, grieving Carol Hall now faces being forced out of the home which holds so many treasured memories.

Carol shared the rented property with her beloved Scott for 21 years before he was beaten by two vicious yobs and died of a brain haemorrhage, aged 28.

With her son gone, the heartbroken mum has fallen victim to the Tories’ cruel Bedroom Tax, meaning her housing benefit is being cut as the three-bed semi is considered too big for her.

The sandwich shop worker had already lost carer’s allowance for her disabled son and can no longer afford to stay in the home she loves.

Carol, 56, said: “I was full-time carer for Scott and was paid to look after him.

“I supplemented that income with a part-time job in a sandwich bar to make ends meet.



“But Scott’s death obviously means that carer’s allowance has been taken away and the wages from the sandwich shop do not cover the rent and bills.

“The last straw was being hit by the Bedroom Tax.

“My allowance was enough to cover it but now it is crippling me and I have no choice but to move.”

She added: “I am struggling with losing Scott but now losing my home is more than I can bear.”

It is the latest blow for Carol, who lost her son in July and saw his attackers walk free last week.

Scott died 11 days after he was punched to the ground and kicked by two 15-year-old yobs.

But the youths were not charged with unlawfully killing him because his injuries could not be directly linked to the assault.

After his death, one of the teenage thugs boasted on ­Facebook of being a “full-time killer”.



But both attackers were spared prison and given referral orders after admitting assault causing actual bodily harm.

Carol, of Framwellgate Moor, Co Durham, earns £65 a week, topped up by £72.40-a-week employment support allowance.

After Scott’s death she lost £61.35-a-week carer’s allowance.

She was given a year’s grace on the Bedroom Tax, but from July will lose £25 a week in housing benefit due to two spare rooms.

Carol has also received a ­discretionary housing award, which is a temporary payment for people struggling with rent, but that ends next month.

It means she will have no choice but to move out.

Daughter Zoe, 25, who works as a carer, added: “It is heartbreaking. Mum wants to stay in the house surrounded by memories of Scott.

"This is where we grew up and it is special to her but she is now going to lose it.

“She sits with no heating. I have given her fleeces to help keep her warm. Mum devoted her life to Scott, she does not deserve to find herself in this position.”

Durham City Housing Association, which owns Carol’s home, declined to comment on her case.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: “Our sympathy is with the family of Mr Hall.

"The removal of the spare bedroom subsidy does not apply for a year when there is bereavement.

"Discretionary housing payments may also be available to help families through such difficult times.”

Tragic Scott was left disabled by a freak injury when he was 10 after a football hit him in the face as he watched an amateur match.

His condition, Rasmussen’s syndrome, affected his balance, speech and the way he walked.

Magistrates heard he was trying to get away from the youths when he was punched to the ground and kicked.

He spent the final days of his life in a state of terror after being traumatised by the attack.

Nine days after the assault, he suffered the bleed to his brain, which went on to kill him two days later.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/mothers-anguish-killer-took-son-5341984

Damn this f..king government to hell, may they rot!

Truly, they are completely inhuman.

Get the bastards out!

It's one of the most unjust charges on tenants that the Tories could ever have come up with. Where are people supposed to go when there is already a shortage of housing in the first place?

Labour would abolish the Bedroom Tax and quite right too.

Get these clowns out because there is likely to more to come if they get another 5 years.

Just thinking about the possibility makes me feel ill.

What a pathetic story, throw in the death of a son to gain sympathy to the fact this person is in a property they cannot afford and use a pathetic excuse on bedroom tax.
You cannot make it up the levelks the left will go to on a sob story.
SeriouslY it really gets my goat stories like this which are clearly a load of bollocks. Someone loses out on their property, throw  in a sob story and bedroom tax and hey presto you have a left wing sob story.
Sorry no sympathy for her what so ever, if his memory meant that much she should get a better paid job or manage her income better.
Why does she even have a council property is more to the point?
She was given a year to solve the problem and she has not resolved this and gone sobbing to the press.
I am sorry she has lost her son, this though means you get on with your life and not pathetically use his death as she is doing now.
Fucking outrageous the shit they print today, she has no right to a council property now as well and nothing stopping her from getting a full time job.

In very sorry for the lady, losing a child is horrific.

However, I don't see the relevance of her son's death and the bedroom tax?

She is a lone woman that lives in a property that's too big. Whilst I understand her memories may be all that's keeping her there, the property is better-suited to a family who need it.

And yes, there are smaller prooerties available Irn!
They tend to swap families over within the same area - that's what they have done round here.
I've had many conversations with the council - you see, this is what I keep explaining to everyone, I actually don't own my own home (out of choice now) so I know exactly how the system works, all the dodgly dealings within it (yes! I have now won my  personal war - more in that very very soon!)
The council housing list is corrupt, unfair (getting fairer it seems..?) and is full of people sitting in properties that are too big whilst some people are living with two kids in one bedroom shared by all!


On another note: the woman pictured with no limbs - nomidea on earth why she has to keep proving her entitlement!! That's ridiculous!!