A mother says she has reached "breaking point" after more than a decade of trying to find a bigger home for her family.

Connie Goodchild currently lives in a two-bedroom flat on the Meriden estate with her partner and five children.

The living situation is so desperate, Ms Goodchild and her partner sleep on the kitchen floor while the children make do with any space that's left in the overcrowded flat.

It has been 12 years since Ms Goodchild moved into the flat and she has spent years looking for a bigger home in Watford via the council and other agencies but says she has not been offered anything.

The 31-year-old mother moved in to the flat when it was first built in 2008 with her young daughter, and later took on her partner's son, now ten, who would otherwise have been taken in by social services following the death of his mother.

Watford Observer:

Connie's partner and five children

Ms Goodchild says the family were supposed to be moved in 2010 when they were a family of five, and the situation became more challenging when they had another child, now eight.

The then mother-of-three, plus one, fell unexpectedly pregnant again in 2018 - and despite the family's situation getting even more desperate and continuous discussions with Watford Borough Council, no larger home has been offered to the family, nor have they been able to bid on one to move in for more than a year.

Watford Observer:

Five children aged 13,10,10,8, and 1 are crammed into a two-bed flat

The family have bunk beds in one of the bedrooms and the living room and kitchen also doubles up as a bedroom with a mattress on the floor.

Ms Goodchild said: "I've come to breaking point. We're really suffering. I'm losing my hair because of how stressful the housing situation is.

"I took my partner's son in because no mother could have let a child go into the system. I was shocked when I found out I was pregnant again (in 2018).

"We shouldn't be living like this, we have put up with this for such a long time. It is inhumane. We've never been offered anything."

Watford Observer:

Connie, pictured, with her youngest child, now aged 1

The family say they are "happy to take anything" - a large three-bed or four-bed home - and Ms Goodchild believes her family have missed out on suitable properties.

Someone helping the family says she is aware of two three-bed homes available right now which she believes is large enough for the Goodchild's.

Ms Goodchild says she and her family want to stay in Watford because it is where her partner, who was born in Jamaica, works, and it's also been her hometown all her life, and where all of her children were born.

The family's financial situation means they cannot find their own place - they current rent the flat which is owned by Paradigm Housing Group.

Watford Observer:

The living space doubles up a bedroom as the family make do with what space they have got

The council says the Goodchild's are not the only family in Watford in need of a bigger home, but the mayor has said the council will do "everything it can" to help them.

Watford mayor Peter Taylor said: "The Goodchild family are living in really tough conditions and we absolutely agree that they need to be moved to a bigger home.

"Unfortunately, there are very few four-bedroom homes available to people on the housing register. So few, in fact, that over the last four years only ten four-bedroom homes have come available. On top of this, the number of families needing bigger homes is going up and at the moment there are at least 10 times more applicants than homes.

"I know these facts don’t alter the situation for the Goodchild's and I understand their frustration. We are doing everything we can to find a solution to their dilemma. They have a dedicated housing officer who is liaising with a number of partners on the family’s behalf, including their housing association landlord to explore all possibilities of helping the family move.

"We are also reviewing the family’s banding to see if we can make them higher priority but there are of course many families on the housing register with a host of complex needs, so this isn’t at all straightforward.

"Ultimately, the Goodchild family's story is a stark reminder of just how significant the housing crisis is and it emphasises the impact it is having on children in particular. We will continue to do everything we can to help them find a place they can really call home."