A child who has been living in temporary council accommodation since his family was served a Section 21 notice, has described his life in between council properties as like living in a "horror film".
Will, 10, lives in a single room with his mum, dad and younger brother in an emergency bed and breakfast in Ilford.
"Life in the B&B is horrible, it’s worse than being in a real-life horror film. There’s no room to do anything, even if I’m reading my book, as I’m still going to get annoyed by someone," he explained, when asked to describe his home life.
"I've been told off by someone for running in the small corridor, you can’t do much, you can’t play much. I don’t get to play that often.
"Sometimes me and my little brother Harry, we fight for the one chair, because we both want to sit at the table, and sometimes he wins and sometimes I win."
Will said he struggles to do his homework as he gets distracted by his little brother.
"I don’t have another room to work in peace," he explained.
"I love to read my book at the end of the day, and I struggle to because part of the time, my little brother Harry needs to go to bed. And we need to turn off the lights which means I can’t see the pages.
"It’s really annoying that I can’t go to sleep in the bed that we share, as I have school and sometimes I am really miserable because I didn’t get a good night’s sleep. And Harry, he doesn’t like being woken up early when he hasn’t had a good night’s sleep, as he sometimes falls asleep at school."
Will's family moved to Ilford, east London, in September. At the time, they were told they would remain there for six weeks.
"We moved here in September, and they said we were going to stay for six weeks. Then they told us we were going to stay for two more, then they told us it will be another week, then another one," Will said.
And he's not alone.
A staggering 135,000 children in Britain are currently homeless and living in temporary accommodation - the highest number in 12 years.
This is the equivalent of 183 children per day, enough to fill 2.5 double decker buses, a report by Shelter has found.
In the UK, there are 5,683 homeless families with children currently living in emergency B&Bs and hostels – widely considered the worst type of accommodation.
In England, the areas with the highest proportion of homeless children are the London boroughs Kensington & Chelsea, Haringey, Westminster and Newham where one in every 12 children are homeless.
Outside the capital, the places with the highest concentration of homeless children are Luton (one in every 22 children), Brighton & Hove (one in every 30) and Manchester (one in every 47).
Families are often squashed into one room with little space to cook, play or eat their meals; and the accommodation is often located miles away from schools, jobs and loved ones.
With a severe lack of social homes, expensive private rents and welfare cuts driving the country’s housing emergency, Shelter is warning that if nothing changes, 1,647 children will be made homeless between now and the time of the general election on December 12 and 4,026 by Christmas day on December 25.
The charity is calling on every political party to put housing at the top of its domestic agenda and is asking the public to support its urgent Christmas appeal.
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: "The fact 183 children become homeless every day is a scandalous figure and sharp reminder that political promises about tackling homelessness must be turned into real action.
"Day in, day out we see the devastating impact the housing emergency is having on children across the country. They are being uprooted from friends; living in cold, cramped B&Bs and going to bed at night scared by the sound of strangers outside.
"Every child has the right to a safe home and if we act now, we can help get them to a better place. So, every donation will mean Shelter can be there for the children and families who need us this Christmas."
To donate to Shelter’s Christmas appeal please visit www.shelter.org.uk or text SHELTER to 70030 to donate £3. Shelter receives 100% of your donation.
