By Safira Ali

Last updated 09:33, Tuesday, 19 August 2008

A WHITEHAVEN woman who is suffering from cancer fears she is about to be evicted from her home as she prepares to go into hospital for life-saving surgery.

Amanda Farrington : Waiting for a decision

Distraught Amanda Farrington, 35, has asked housing chiefs to be more lenient with her because of her difficult circumstances.

She is waiting by the phone today for a call to tell her whether she has to leave her council house or not.

At the same time Mrs Farrington is preparing to go into hospital tomorrow to undergo an operation to remove cancer from her cervix.

Doctors have told her it is vital she has somewhere to rest as she recovers from her surgery.

Copeland Council, the authority responsible for housing in the town, has insisted they will take her health situation into consideration when making a decision and insist she will not be thrown out on to the streets.

Mrs Farrington said that after the breakdown of her marriage she was forced to live with her ex-husband because Copeland Council would not rehouse her.

Just before her divorce was finalised she finally moved into temporary accommodation with three of her five children in June.

But now housing chiefs have said she is no longer eligible for homeless housing because her name is still on the rent books of her ex-husband’s house and that she must find her own accommodation.

Mrs Farrington, of Croasdale Avenue, Mirehouse, decided she would be the one to leave her former family home because her ex-husband Paul is disabled and had problems with his back and knees.

She has been living in temporary accommodation since June 23, and was living in a B&B in Millom for a week before that.

She said: “I had to live with my ex-husband. There was no other alternative. The council said they could give him a one-bedroom flat and I could keep the house, but two of the children wanted to stay with him, so he would need a bigger place anyway.

“Copeland Council decided to help me in June. I tried to get private rented accommodation, but no-one would touch me because I am on benefits. I am halfway through my second year of a hairdressing course.”

“I am terrified about the operation. But the main thing for me is having nowhere to go. And that me and my children could potentially be homeless.”

A Copeland Council spokeswoman said: “On August 13 Amanda Farrington’s temporary accommodation was extended indefinitely until a decision is made on her application.

“That decision is expected early this week and we will take her hospital appointment into careful consideration. She will be notified of the outcome promptly, when she will also be told what will happen next.”

Repossessions soar: page 5