'Christmas miracle' saves Wolverhampton family from eviction

Charlotte and Anthony Smith are using rent money to pay for food and bills

An anonymous donor has saved a family from eviction weeks before Christmas after they fell behind in rent arrears.

Charlotte and Anthony Smith spoke to the BBC in November when they owed more than £600 in rent arrears and were under threat of losing their home.

Someone who saw the story offered to clear the debt, saying they had been helped in the past and wanted to pay it forward.

Mrs Smith, from Wolverhampton said it was a "Christmas miracle come true".

"In this day and age, for somebody to pay off even just half or a little bit, it is just so nice. Thank you is not really enough."

The couple, who say they are unable to work due to mental health problems, are on universal credit and saw their bills spiral when Charlotte's teenage son came to live with them in the one-bedroom house.

They were using money meant for rent on food and the situation left the couple sleeping on a blow-up mattress in the living room.

Thanks to the kindness of the stranger, they are now in the position of being able to move to a more suitable home and know they have a roof over their heads for Christmas, they said.

'A true angel'

"It means the world," said Mrs Smith. "Our son can have his own room. It'll be nice to not live on top of each other. It will be a new start for us all and make our lives completely different."

The donor did not want to be identified, but Mr and Mrs Smith said they wanted the person to understand how thankful they were.

"Words cannot express how grateful we are," the 32-year-old added. "We'd like to give them a proper thank you - just to say - they don't know how much this has changed our lives.

"This person is a true angel - whoever he or she is."

Mr Smith said: "We'd lost faith in the world and what this has shown is that people do really care.

"People do want to help one another."