I’m accused of having a baby at 21 to bypass the council house queue – saving cash on rent has let us travel the world

PROUDLY posting a picture of herself and her son, Leo, two, smiling in their new council house, supermarket worker Lucy Kingsford, 23, watches as supportive likes and messages flood in.

It’s a far cry from April 2022 when the single mum, from Cambridge, posted about being unable to cope just after she moved into her first new-build council house.

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She felt it was too far away from her parents, an hour from the shops and with no public transport nearby.

Then - despite suffering from postnatal depression - the young mum received a torrent of abuse.

Unwarrented abuse

“I hope your baby gets taken by social services,” private messaged one person.

“You only had the child to get a council house,” another said. 

And finally: “You’re just a council house s***.”

“They had no comprehension of what I was going through,” says Lucy.

“Trolls assumed that being given my first council house at 21 should have been a celebration for me.”

Lucy, applied for council housing in 2021 when she was pregnant and got her first property  within just five months because she was a priority case being ‘pregnant and homeless.’

“I know some people wait a decade to reach the top of the council house list and I waited five months but that’s because I needed it more,” she says. 

“I was pregnant, homeless and had nowhere to live. I was assessed fairly.”

Lucy has grown up in council houses with her parents and grandma both living in them - and she’s angry people shame them. 

“Mum and dad still live in the council bungalow I grew up in,” she says. 

“I was there when I fell pregnant aged 20 in April 2021. 

“There were five of us in a two bedroom plus a tiny box room house.

“But with a new baby coming it was too small and abortion wasn’t something I would consider. 

“There simply wasn’t enough room so I had to show the council my son and I would be homeless without help.

“The council agreed. They came around and did multiple checks and interviews.

“They could see there was not enough room in the bungalow for everyone.

“It broke my parents’ hearts that there wasn't enough room for me. They supported me through all the council interviews. 

“I was earning £1.3k-a-month after taxes as a supermarket staffer and private rent was around £1.2k.”

Earning her keep

Lucy, who left school at 16, worked initially as an air stewardess before moving to supermarket work when covid hit. 

Then she worked daily. “So I’ve paid in,” she says. “I was and remain an essential worker.

“I hadn’t got savings for a bigger place because I am only young - what do people expect me to do?

“My wage has never been enough to rent privately. Private rent is beyond reach for people like me.”

Initially she was offered a home on a new-build estate 30 minutes by car away from her family which she took, worried she would be taken off the priority list otherwise. 

She was awarded the property in December 2021, getting the keys in February 2022.

Leo was born in January 2022 and the pair moved in March 2022.

But that’s when things worsened for the new mum.

“There was no public transport so I couldn't go anywhere,” she says. “I had to walk an hour to the shops with my newborn.

“It was too far away. I knew if I didn't take the property I’d be removed from the priority listing. It was devastating to be nowhere near my family or my work.”

Lack of support

She shared her struggle on social media only to be told she “should be grateful for her cheap home and new baby.”

But unable to accept it she put the council house she’d just been granted onto the council house exchange programme and hoped to find a council house on the estate she grew up in to swap.

Still, it worked out and in February 2023  - just 11 months later - she claimed her second council house in an ‘council house exchange’.

It was a two-bed terrace, five minutes from her parents and close to work.

Making the house a home

It’s her “dream house” and rent is just £485 a month. 

Still it hasn’t been easy. She claims she’s had to spend £1.2k of her own money making it nice.

“Wallpaper was peeling off the walls, there was plaster falling off the walls and every room needed re-doing,” she says. 

“I taught myself how to lay adhesive tiles and spent £200 at B&Q on bargain flooring.”

The new mum also re-did some of the plastering herself and her family and friends pitched in to paint walls, clean windows and turn the home into a castle.

The savvy mum also got a free sofa and her son’s cot for £10 from Facebook Marketplace.

“I loved looking at the before and after pictures,” she adds.

“The redecoration was a celebration of getting the home we needed but also a chance to share tips with other mums when they see the house.”

However, sharing her council house journey has meant Lucy has had to contend with jealous trolls.

“Some people have to wait five or 10 years for a council house,” she says. 

“Trolls love telling me I deliberately got pregnant to get a freebie home.

Having a council house rent of £485 means my son can benefit from cheap holidays abroad

Lucy Kingsford

“It had a dreadful impact on my mental health. It was worsened by the hateful trolls. It almost destroyed me,” she says. 

“But now the trolls don’t worry me. I know they don’t comprehend what I have been through or understand  the full picture. I recognise them for what they are - bullies.”

One of the main criticisms she’s received is that she's “ripping off the system  “because she got a council when she became pregnant”.

“Others love calling me a council house s***. My pregnancy wasn't planned. My son is now the centre of my world. 

“I am proud I grew up in a council house, I am proud I got two council homes before I was 23 because I am an essential  worker and a fantastic mum."

Jetsetting

And she says her cheap rent means she can take her son on overseas holidays.

“We’ve been to four countries including  Mexico, Italy and Morocco,” she says. “He loves it and it’s great for his education and socialisation. I save for the holidays and I work hard to pay for them.”

“Having a council house rent of £485 means my son can benefit from cheap holidays abroad. 

“The trips expose him to different cultures and languages. If I was paying private rent I could never treat him. It’s a critical part of his education.

“We went to Ibiza for £150 last year. It was four nights and I used my Tesco Clubcard points to pay for the hotel.

“Affordable social housing is a right for everyone, not just a  dream,” she says.

“It’s why I don't care if I am trolled. People can think what they like.

“My son, and my family are important to me. I’m working. I  got pregnant and I happened to get a council house.  I know my future is secure.  I can plan a proper career in an area I have grown up in.

“Having a baby fast tracked me to a council house. But it’s made me a fighter. This is my right and I won't be trolled .”

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