A HEARTBROKEN family lost their mum, nan and home of nearly three decades all in the space of a week.

Leanne Everest was grieving the loss of her 75-year-old mother when she was given just four weeks to be out of her council house.

The mum-of-two has lived in the property in Barry, South Wales, for 27 years but now fears she will end up miles from her current home.

She and her two children, Caitlyn, 20, and Louis, 18, face an agonising wait while they wait to be rehoused.

The family were given the devastating news just days after Leanne's mum, Diane, died "completely out of the blue" after a nine-week battle with pancreatic cancer, Wales Online reports.

Her diagnosis was "significantly delayed" by the pandemic and doctors initially shrugged it off as gastritis and sent her home from hospital.

But three days before Christmas, Diane's symptoms worsened and she was rushed back to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff where she was told she had pancreatic cancer.

On Christmas Day she was sent home while she waited for surgery to remove a tumour but an infection saw her rushed back on February 10 and Diane died the next day.

Leanne, 45, said: "My precious and wonderful mum wasn't expected to die. It was completely out of the blue."

She added: "We were inseparable. We went everywhere together.

"My mum was a wonderful person with a heart of gold. She was selfless and so caring and would do anything for anyone.

"She would go without to make sure everyone else was okay. She was my mum, my rock and my world and we all miss her so much.

"We as a family are completely heartbroken but somehow we must begin to rebuild our lives again."

The pair had lived together in the house for 27 years after Diane inherited the tenancy from her own mother.

But the law allows only one succession per tenancy so Leanne and her family have been put into temporary accommodation until a house becomes available.

And they will be forced to live wherever that is after a spike in demand due to the pandemic.

'MY ROCK, MY WORLD'

Leanne, a single parent with very little family support, said: "I'm scared and worried that we're going to be placed somewhere miles away.

"I have no transport, it's really scary. We're trying to grieve for my mum and the kids for their nan, and we've got all this.

"We've lived in this house for 27 years so I've got a lot of stuff to get rid of and move."

Leanne had been her mum's full-time carer for the last nine weeks of her life as she has been unable to work due to severe anxiety and depression.

She is relying on her mum's wages to last up to the end of the month and doesn't know what she is going to do after that.

Leanne said: "We were served notice yesterday that we have four weeks to vacate the premises and hand back the keys.

"Because of Covid, there's not the houses out there, and I totally understand that, but we're just scared about where we're going to be put."

And on top of moving house twice, Leanne is going through the "heartache, stress and worry" of organising a funeral.

She said: "I have little money for rent and bills let alone the two moves and everything else that I now need to pay for.

"Things are pretty bad right now. We as a family are grieving for our mum and nan and now we have to lose our lovely home."

Leanne felt her "only choice" was to set up a GoFundMe page to help raise some urgently-needed cash.

'HEARTACHE, STRESS AND WORRY'

A Vale of Glamorgan Council spokesperson said the local authority was "working closely" with Ms Everest and her family to find suitable accommodation.

They told Wales Online: "[We] would like to offer our deepest sympathies following their recent loss.

"The law allows only one succession per tenancy to ensure properties become available to applicants on the housing register.

"If we did not do this, properties could perpetually be kept within families and new applicants would have limited opportunities to secure council accommodation.

"Currently, there are over 5,000 households on the register, including many homeless households and people in acute housing need.

"Ms Everest and her two adult children have been referred to our housing solutions team who will help them find alternative accommodation and also the money advice team.

"Whilst a notice to quit has been served, which expires at the end of March, they will be allowed to stay in their current accommodation until alternative accommodation is found.

"The council will continue to support the family and work with them to ensure the best outcome is achieved."

A spokesperson for Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, said: "Our thoughts are with the family at this time.

"If they wish to discuss any aspect of care further we would ask that they contact our Concerns team."

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