A FAMILY of soon-to-be four has been forced to sleep in a tent in a family member's back garden after being evicted from their home not once but twice.

Jamie Starling, his pregnant partner Rachel Barter, and their four-year-old girl Aimee have been living in Rachel's mum's garden for some weeks now, several months after they were forced from their home.

The family had been living in private rented accommodation in Canford Heath when Jamie, 35, was made redundant. He soon found work with Borough of Poole as a binman but only on a zero-hour contract and was unable to earn enough to pay the rent in full.

They were soon evicted by their landlord but chose not to pay the final month's rent, fearful their deposit would be kept. The landlord took them to court and they found themselves with a CCJ which has meant they have failed every credit score since - a prerequisite for anyone trying to rent privately.

Borough of Poole stepped up and moved the family to a bed and breakfast, Mr Starling claims. But their room was then reallocated to a different family, he said, and they were forced to move.

They have been unable to stay at Rachel's mum's home because of its size and severe health problems of one of the family members.

Mr Starling claims the council has tried to help them relocate but only to unsuitable locations, some of which have been so bad he would not want to bring a dog up in it let alone his child, he said.

Ms Barter, 30, is due to give birth in four weeks and their situation has left the family in dire straits.

"We go to numerous estate agents and we have to spend a lot of money going through the system only to fail the credit checks," Mr Starling said. "We now can't afford to do it anymore."

The couple were shown around a flat on Friday (JUN 23) that Mr Starling likened to "a crack den".

"Rachel has been in hysterics because she thought I was going to make us live there. You couldn't bring a dog up in there. There were holes in the walls and no carpets. We're safer in the tent."

The couple have managed to install electricity at the tent so they can watch television as a family.

A spokesman for Borough of Poole was unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.