WE are being forced to live like animals. That’s the claim made by a homeless family of six who are struggling to cope in two tiny caravans at East Boldre in the New Forest.

The family, including three children, are living in impossibly cramped conditions with few possessions and no privacy.

Answering a call of nature means stepping outside and using a portable toilet that is costing them £23 a week to hire.

Taking a shower involves a 16-mile round trip to Lymington Leisure Centre.

Dirty clothes have to be taken to a launderette in New Milton and drinking water has to be collected from a tap outside a nearby church.

The lack of proper cooking facilities means the family often has to rely on fried food bought from a takeaway.

Their plight has highlighted the shortage of council housing in the New Forest, where applicants usually have to wait years for a property.

The 12ft caravans are occupied by Helen Barney, 34, her partner Terry, 35, and daughter Tammy, 16, plus her nephew Daniel, 14, sister Susan and Susan’s three-year-old son David.

The Barneys left their Lymington home six months ago after the landlord increased the rent from £750 to £850.

Susan and David joined them a few days ago after they too were made homeless.

Helen said one of the caravans leaked, which meant bed linen had to be gathered up and transferred to their car every time it rained.

“We’re living like animals,” she said “I don’t know how I’ve survived this long.

“The children are on top of each other all the time, Daniel’s asthma has got worse and the whole thing has left me feeling very stressed.

“They accepted us as homeless in August but we’re not classed as an emergency, which makes me very angry and annoyed.”

“Tammy’s studying for her GCSEs at Brockenhurst College, which is a golden opportunity for a travelling child. “I had to fight for three months to get Daniel accepted at Priestlands School in Pennington.”

A council spokesman said Helen had been offered bed and breakfast accommodation, plus a loan to help her find accommodation in the private sector.

“She has been advised that there are more than 5,000 households on the waiting list for permanent housing in the district and that the wait is many years.

“Applicants who face homelessness are not given additional priority for permanent housing,” the spokesman said.