A boyfriend and girlfriend say they have been banned from pitching their tent on Chester Rows after he was issued with a community protection notice.
The tent belonging to Jonathan Humphreys and Samantha Hall featured on social media after it was erected on a sloping platform on Eastgate Row.
Now the couple have opened up about their story after Jonathan was handed a community protection notice which he says bans them from entering all the Rows and Eastgate Street after getting in trouble over the tent and for begging.
Jonny, 30, who is originally from Warrington, said they ended up in Chester after losing their property in Sam’s home city of Manchester when she suffered a miscarriage.
He said: “My partner was pregnant and so the council put us into temporary accommodation. Unfortunately she had a miscarriage. I let the housing know about the miscarriage and then they kicked us out of the house, said the house was too big for us, instead of putting us in a smaller property.
“They didn’t even give us 24 hours’ notice. They come on the Wednesday and they said you’ve got to be out on the Thursday by 12 o’clock. They turned up with bailiffs and everything, like we were criminals.
“We ended up back on the streets in Manchester. But it’s too dangerous on the streets in Manchester which is why we ended up coming back to Chester because you can get quite a lot of help in Chester.
“We’re engaging with all the services to try and get ourselves a property.”
However, Jonny explained the ‘no local connection’ rule meant Cheshire West and Chester Council couldn’t help them although Chester Aid to the Homeless does not operate such a policy. Until they secure a place to live the couple must find a new pitch for their tent but have no idea where to go.
“We stay on here just because it’s safe you see, it’s lit up a bit,” added Jonny, pointing at the historic Row.
He describes himself as a civil engineer who had worked on the roads with ‘a good job and a good lifestyle’ with a rented property in Warrington – having previously trained as a carpet fitter.
But he explained: “I got laid off from work and the property we were in, he didn’t take benefits so we had to get out of that house. That’s how we ended up on the streets in the first place.”
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A tearful Sam, 33, a mother, said they had been robbed ‘a few times’ while sleeping rough and also face being constantly moved on by the authorities.
“To be honest with you on a day to day basis it is hard,” she said. “Before I was on the streets I used to think there’s no need for people to be like this but until you’re in that situation you can’t judge people.”
She is thankful they’ve got each other. "That’s all we’ve got," said Sam, but is fearful in case one of them should get arrested and jailed due to the inevitable scrapes that come with the territory.
“If he goes to jail that’s me on my own and what am I supposed to do?” she asked.
Jonny feels he can’t to turn to family for help.
“To be honest my mum doesn’t even know. I don’t want her to know because she’s not very well herself. I don’t want to put any more stress on the family,” he said.
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