Manal Mahmoud moved into the Fulham address following a £76,000 refit
'I deserve to live in a nice house and get benefits,' she said.
Council says the family's behaviour has been 'appalling' and it must improve
Claims doors are missing, wallpaper has been ripped off, driveway tiles have been smashed and furniture has been left strewn in the garden
Mrs Mahmoud insists she has 'right to live in a nice house and claim benefits'

By Emily Allen and Martin Robinson

PUBLISHED: 09:32, 14 August 2012
UPDATED: 13:18, 14 August 2012


Eviction? Manal Mahmoud moved into this upmarket Fulham address following a £76,000 refit - half of which was paid for by public money - almost three years ago but there are claims it has been 'trashed' by the family

An unemployed refugee on benefits who has allegedly wrecked her £1.25million townhouse paid for by the taxpayer says she is 'entitled' to live there.

Mother-of-seven Manal Mahmoud moved into the upmarket Fulham address almost three years ago, but have since been branded the 'family from hell'.

'I deserve to live in a nice house and get benefits. I deserve this house because I am human. In this country, it is our right to live here. It is important for my kids to have space to play,' she said.

But now she could face eviction after the landlord of the three-bedroom property, Sue Cummings, apparently found the home had been 'trashed'.

Mrs Mahmoud, who is in her late 40s, moved to the UK 12 years ago to escape fighting and political problems in her native Palestine.

But since she's settled in west London neighbours say the family were antisocial. Complaints have
also been made about them to the council and police.


Angry: One of Mrs Mahmoud's sons came out of the house this morning and swore at photographers outside

'I am entitled to live in a house like this, even if I don't pay for it. It is fair that the government houses us,' she said.

'My family gives something back to the community. I know I have a son who makes trouble but that does not mean all my children are the same.

She added: 'All the neighbours are just complaining because the landlord rented the house to council tenants. They don't want a foreigner to come and live in this street.

'When I was first shown the house I was really happy. I thought it was lovely. But then I saw how the neighbours looked at me and my children.

'After just a few weeks we felt we weren't welcome in this street. I asked my housing officer to move me. Just because we are a big family my neighbours don't like it."

Ms Cummings, who agreed to let council tenants live in her home in the leafy street close to the River Thames, apparently found doors missing or hanging off and walls written on.

The driveway had also been smashed up, wallpaper was off and carpet worn through, the Sun said.

Outside, the lawn was overgrown, furniture left in the front garden and rubbish and motorbike parts strewn around.

However, Mrs Mahmoud, who has five young daughters and two teenage sons, insisted she had the right to live in the house - which only underwent a £76,000 refit - half of which was paid for by public money - three years ago.

All of her children live at the address apart from her oldest son who is in prison for drug dealing.

She told Sun reporters: 'I deserve to live in a nice house and get benefits. In this country, it is our right to live here.'

When MailOnline called her address the family insisted they did not have any comment to make.

Meanwhile, Ms Cummings said she was too upset to talk about the damage to her home, which only had a new kitchen and roof put in in 2009.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council said it may fight to evict the family at a court hearing on Thursday.

Deputy council leader Greg Smith said: 'We have warned this family that they face eviction if their appalling behaviour does not improve.

'There is a court hearing fixed for Thursday and we are working hard to resolve this matter.'

It's not the first time plush homes lived in by benefit claimants have come under the spotlight.

In February it emerged that at least 100 families receiving housing benefit were living in luxury homes on handouts that could fund £1m mortgages.

More than 30 of those families were being given £1,500 a week to live 'swanky' lifestyles - more than three times the national average wage.

Of the 100 families, 60 have their rent paid by the state to the value of £5,000 a month, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.

In 2010 it emerged that a family of Somalian asylum seekers were getting £1.2m a year to live in Kensington, west London - a short walk from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's home in Kensington Palace.

Abdi Nur, 42, an unemployed bus conductor, his wife Sayruq, 40, and their seven children moved to the three-storey home in the fashionable area of the capital after complaining that their previous home had been in a 'poor' part of the city.

In another case last year, a Somalian family moved from a house in Coventry to a £2m property in West Hampstead, north London.

Saeed Khaliiff was given £2,000 a week for the home despite having no links to the area, which has been home to George Michael, Sienna Miller, Jude Law and Helena Bonham Carter.

Meanwhile, Afghan mother of seven Toorpakai Saindi was handed £12,000 in housing benefit a month to be able to live in a £1.2million mansion in Acton, west London as there weren't enough council houses big enough.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2188075/Family-seven-refugees-living-benefits-1-25m-townhouse-face-eviction-trashing-property.html