Supermarket supervisor Julie Brogan, 39, returned to work and came off council benefits four years ago but has ended up living with her teenage daughter in a caravan at a friend's house in Kingsley Avenue, Worsley Mesnes.

After the credit crunch left her struggling to meet her soaring mortgage repayments, she got into arrears but found a company prepared to buy the property and rent it back to her.

But Julie was shocked when a judge granted a repossession order on August 6 at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates Court, refusing to give her an extra 14 days to get the documentation sorted.

Julie said: "It feels like it pays to stay on the dole. Perhaps some people might say it's my own fault but I wanted to make a go of things and stand on my own two feet. After the fixed rate ended on my mortgage, I started to struggle.

"When I showed the judge a letter from the finance company agreeing to buy and rent back the house, she said because there was nothing signed they could potentially back out within the 14 day cooling off, so I asked them for 14 days.

"The judge said 'no', looked at the clock on the wall and said I won't keep you because the eviction is going ahead and you have only have an hour to get some belongings out before they change the locks. I was devastated.

"A home I had lived in for 20 years had just been taken from me on the say-so of this judge. The house was put up for sale but it is still empty.

"In this credit crunch, when houses are not selling, why have we ended up on the streets when it could have all been avoided with just a bit of understanding?

"If I'd stayed on the dole, I would still be in my home."
She believes mortgage lenders and the courts are using repossession too readily rather than as a last resort and she believes more support should be given to struggling home-owners.