'She wasn't prepared to give someone else a chance': Brother of woman who killed herself 'over bedroom tax' says other families needed house more than she did . Daily Mail

  Stephanie Bottrill, 52, walked in front of a lorry on a motorway 

  The grandmother lived alone in a three-bedroom house in Solihull 

  She blamed the Government's housing policy in her suicide note  

  Her brother Kevin Owens said she wouldn't 'give somebody else a chance' 

  Believes it wasn't 'bedroom tax' that drove her to kill herself
  Also disputed claims she was given half an hour to decide about her house

The brother of a woman who walked out in front of a lorry and killed herself because of 'bedroom tax' has said she wasn't willing to 'give somebody else a chance' in a housing system that requires people to 'take turns'. 

Grandmother Stephanie Bottrill, 52, walked across a motorway on May 4 last year after her local council allegedly told her she had to move out of her three-bedroom terrace house in Solihull, West Midlands, because of the spare room subsidy.

A coroner has today recorded a verdict of suicide saying the Government's housing policy had caused her 'considerable anxiety and stress'.

But after the inquest, her brother, Kevin Owens - joined by Ms Bottrill’s sister, Josephine Trueman - told reporters she 'wasn’t prepared to give somebody else a chance' of a larger home.

He said: 'For social housing to work it needs for everybody to take a turn.'

'When you’re adequately housed by successive governments, and your needs are met, you must give somebody else a turn.

'It’s terrible that people in this country are cramped into one and two-bedroom flats with children while other people sit on three-bedroom houses.

'Our thoughts go out to the lorry driver whose life has been blighted by this, and we just wanted to pass on our thoughts to him.'

Mr Owens also disputed the claim his sister had made about being given half an hour to 'make a decision' on a house.  

He added: 'Much has been written about "bedroom tax" pushing her - it wasn’t, because prior to that she’d attempted suicide before and that hadn’t been reported before.

'It might have been the catalyst to push her but was it just an excuse she was looking for? - That’s all I’ve got to say.' 

During a hearing at Birmingham Coroners Court today, the Black County coroner, Zafar Siddique, said: 'Given the evidence of notes left of her intention,

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Depression, The Dark Fog of the Soul

Comment:

Whether or not you feel the so called “ Bedroom Tax” is unfair or fair, the tragic death of this lady, who suffered for a number of years from anxiety and depression felt no alternative but to take our own life,  however the so called “ Bedroom Tax” isn’t responsible for the tragic death of this person.

Drivers warned to brush up on new road tax rules or face £1,000 fine as the disc disappears from windscreens in October Daily Mail

  End to practice whereby car sellers include remaining tax in sale

  Drivers will no longer need a tax disc from October

  Onus is on the seller to inform the DVLA of ownership change

The tax disc with months left to run has long been a handy money-saving perk when buying a used car, but new rules will see that benefit axed from October when they vanish from our windscreens.

And motorists need to be aware of impending tax disc changes or face a £1,000 fine as well as potential penalty charges against a car they no longer own, experts warn. 

Automatic number plate recognition cameras enforcing road tax will end any tax disc is in the post excuses and spell penalties for those who forget to renew, while those buying and selling used cars will need to make doubly sure everything is done by the book.

The death of the tax disc has been well documented. This is Money revealed the Government was plotting its demise back in 2012 and the change was officially announced in last year’s Autumn Statement.

Yet experts at hpicheck.com say many drivers are likely to get caught out and now realise that the end of the tax disc will also see a tightening of enforcement.

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