'We're just waiting for the bailiffs to come'

Megan says she is 'waiting and panicking' after being given a no-fault eviction notice

A mother of three says she has no option but to sit and wait for the bailiffs to come after being served with a no-fault eviction notice.

Two months ago, the Somerset family of five was informed that their landlord intended to sell the home they had lived in for the past six years.

With nowhere else to go, they are left waiting to see what happens next, which could be bailiffs at the door.

Just three miles from the family's home in Stogursey is Hinkley Point C. Mum Megan says "all" her neighbours are construction workers at the new nuclear power station.

Megan is worried about how her three children would cope in temporary accommodation

Some local residents feel the 15,000 workers are snapping up properties and pushing up prices.

"I'm just sitting and waiting and panicking," said Megan. "I keep calling the council and requesting call backs - nobody contacts me."

Hinkley Point C said it was working on plans to expand the amount of local accommodation it has to "limit the impact on the local accommodation market".

Andrew Cockcroft, head of social impact at Hinkley Point C, said: "We are very, very conscious of some of the impacts of such a large project on the community.

"We are working on plans with Somerset Council to expand the amount of local accommodation we have, which will limit the impact on the local accommodation market."

Megan works full-time and her husband is their eldest daughter's carer

But this is of little help to Megan, who said despite being assigned a council housing officer who acknowledged her family could soon be homeless, no further action has been taken since.

"They said not to leave the property, wait until court action is taken when a bailiff will come and they will temporarily house us which would be a hostel or B&B," she said.

"I've been back and forth to the GP because I just run on antidepressants because I'm scared. What's going to happen to my children? How we're going to cope in a hostel?

"What we're supposed to do when the bailiffs arrive? Where am I supposed to put the contents of a three-bedroom house?" she added.

The family have lived in their home in Stogursey near Bridgwater for six years

Megan's eldest child, six-year-old Tilly, has been diagnosed with learning difficulties. Megan works full-time and her husband, Kieran, gave up his job to become Tilly's registered carer.

Megan and her husband have applied for four private rented houses in the last two months.

She said: "They tend to see 'carer' and think: why would we choose a family who needs government help, when you've got a three-bedroom house and that's three HPC [Hinkley Point C] workers they could house who are on £120k a year? We don't get a look in."

Megan is worried any temporary accommodation the council offers them could be up to a 25-minute drive away from her older children's school and that sharing a bedroom would be "impossible".

Megan is on antidepressants due to the stress of their impending eviction

After researching the issue on social media, Megan said she heard from dozens of other mums in a similar position.

"It's absolutely terrifying, it made everything very real, to know there are already families like us in hostels in Bridgwater," she said.

"You don't ever think it's actually going to get to that point."

Andrew Lee is a letting agent in Bridgwater and says it's a very 'busy' time

Bridgwater is the nearest town to Hinkley Point, where lots of the construction workers are living.

Some are in purpose-built campus accommodation, others are in shared private rentals.

Local letting agent Andrew Lee said it was very "busy" with lots of people enquiring.

He said: "You could just come in the morning and you've got 25 enquiries per property - this has been for the last few years.

"But as we have known throughout the country, the housing stock and the letting stock is low."

He also said Hinkley Point C had increased demand for private rentals.

"All these extra people, extra workforce, they create demand. Prices go up. So, unfortunately, you are going to have all these people and local people chasing the properties, and it's trying to get a balance," Mr Lee said.

Megan and husband Kieran are among a growing number at risk of homelessness

Megan and her family are among a growing number at risk of homelessness needing help from the local council.

Sarah Wakefield is a Lib Dem councillor and lead member for housing and homelessness at Somerset Council.

"We will advise them to stay in their home for as long as possible because if we have to move them out, and if they do go into accommodation provided by the council, it may not be where they want to be.

"It may not be close to their work or schools or other support that they need and that makes it very difficult," she said.

"We have had the the hike in interest rates and we've had all those problems.

"The living wage in Somerset is lower than the national average and it means they can't afford some of the mortgages that other people might be able to afford.

"There is pressure and we are doing our best to address it, but it does need government action."

Somerset Council said Hinkley Point C was required to fund mitigation measures to "support the creation of bed spaces in Somerset".

It said so far that had created 3,800 additional bed spaces for Somerset residents in addition to the accommodation built for Hinkley workers.

Councillor Sarah Wakefield is responsible for housing and homelessness at Somerset Council

Leigh Redman, the Labour councillor on Somerset Council for Bridgwater Central and North, has previously described the private rental housing market as "broken".

He said that "EDF has brought some fantastic things to the area" which has been paid for by mitigation money from the firm, but that it had come with downsides.

"Bridgwater and surrounding towns and villages are suffering with the private rented sector being under capacity," he added.