Far West
Pursuit Driver
Council tried to force us to sell home to make room for asylum seekers
Jose and Ted Saunders said they were 'insulted and shocked' when the strongly-worded letter from North Northamptonshire Council dropped on their mat last month.
Our council tried to force us to sell our £200,000 home to make room for asylum seekers: Elderly couple's horror after strongly-worded letter lands on their doorstep
'I couldn't believe it,' said retired carer Jose, 76. 'We moved to Rushden to help provide childcare for my grand-daughter and found this nice little place to live.
'The idea of forcing us to sell it to make room for refugees and asylum seekers seems totally wrong.'
Added Jose: 'It was all the more worrying as we'd only moved in last November, so we still hadn't received the deeds for the house.'
Retired driving instructor Ted, 78, and his wife called the council and asked what was going on.
Three days later they received an apology, saying their staff had mistakenly ear-marked the house for possible compulsory purchase, but the Saunders were still baffled by the policy itself.
'What on earth is the council doing forcing people to sell their houses – and even an empty house is owned by someone – so that asylum seekers can live in them?' asked Jose.
'The answer to this is to stop them coming in the first place, not to force people out of their homes.'
' I can confirm their home is most certainly not derelict. It was well appointed and cared for. They were distraught by the threat made by the Council. They feared not having title deeds and being incapable of defending their position. It was not until they visited the Council and after much pleading they managed to get the Council to desist.
