For families living in overcrowded conditions, life is often unbearable. JEREMY GRIMALDI speaks to one woman about her plight and her battle against it.

A MUM has created a website, a community forum and a petition to highlight how bad the housing problem in Lewisham is.

Kathleen Capper, of Campshill Place, Lewisham, set up her website to vent her frustration and raise awareness about the situation.

She and the other five members of her family live in a two-bedroom council flat.

They have been waiting seven years for Lewisham Council to re-house them.

The 31-year-old said: "I did not know what blogging, or publishing your views on the internet, actually was.

"I just wanted to write down how angry I was at a council which refuses to get back in touch with me.

"Now I have more than 40 people visiting my website a day.

"I am amazed it has become so popular.

"It's because there are so many people in a similar situation."

The petition is calling for a change in the law on overcrowding.

Kathleen wants a better deal for those on the waiting list.

The current law dates back to the 1930s and is outdated.

Mother-of-four Kathleen, who has two children with special needs, has been through 12 housing officers since 2000.

The full-time mum was advised by one of them not to update her waiting list details to show her sons have special needs.

This is because if she did so, she would go back to the bottom of the list because her situation had changed.

Her sons Max, seven, who has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, and Zack, five, who has microcephaly, which leads to an under- developed brain, live in one room with their 12-year-old brother Adam.

Kathleen, her 36-year-old husband James, a kitchen designer, and their three-year-old daughter Jessica share the other bedroom.

John Hales, the former supervising solicitor of the Lewisham Law Centre, believes the problem Kathleen has had with housing officers is common practice, especially in Lewisham.

He said: "The real reason for the delays in transfers is the shortage of housing.

"Too often those on the list feel the officer is not there, or out, or moves on, and then they have to start all over again telling their story, and they don't get anywhere."

Lewisham councillor Ian Page, who represents Telegraph Hill for the Socialist Party, believes the problem has been caused by government cuts in housing and the council's obsession with selling off homes.

He said: "I understand how she must feel but hundreds of people are left to rot on this list. I am just glad she is doing something about it.

"It's a disgrace the Labour council is selling off houses rather than standing up to the government to help with situations like this one."

A council spokesman said: "Lewisham takes its housing responsibilities very seriously, which is why we are actively pursuing the Decent Homes programme and various regeneration schemes which will result in a massive investment in social housing in the borough."

To find out more, visit Kathleen's website at lewishamsucks.blogspot.com

  • You can add your support to Kathleen's petition here on News Shopper's site - click here