THE three sons of May Appleton, who died after the family was evicted from their Lostock home, are set to be evicted once again in February.

The 87-year-old May, and her sons Brian, Paul and Mark, were evicted from their home of 61 years in March 2016 by Weaver Vale Housing Trust.

Bailiffs used sledgehammers and crowbars on the doors before drilling out the locks and leading May and her sons away from their home.

It followed nine months of negotiations between WVHT and the Appletons, all surrounding the housing trust’s concern that the property was not safe.

The trust claimed that their large amount of possessions posed a fire hazard – a concern that the trust says was confirmed by Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service.

The family was put up in a Travel Lodge by the housing trust, where May fell ill and later died in hospital in June.

As the eviction notice was served to May and the eviction had not been officially completed, the family was allowed back into their lifelong home, but WVHT then started the process again.

The possession order on the property was granted in June but a court order halted the process to give the family a chance to appeal. The Appletons appealed the decision, but the appeal was turned down at the beginning of December.

Brian said: “This whole thing has ruined our family. It just isn’t fair, we didn’t stand a chance at court.

“When there was the chance that we could be getting evicted and having to find a new home, we just couldn’t afford the legal fees for the appeal.

“We were quoted £16,000 from three different solicitors and we just can’t afford that. The Reverend from Lostock Church went along to represent us for the appeal, but they didn’t give us a chance.”

A letter from WVHT to the family says they have called a ‘Christmas truce’ over the festive period.

However, the possession order will come into effect on February 12, and the housing trust maintains that if they are still not granted access to carry out up-to-date safety inspections, the eviction will go ahead.

Judith Burbidge, director of neighbourhoods and wellbeing at Weaver Vale Housing Trust, said: “Over the past five years we, along with partners including Cheshire West and Chester Council and a number of agencies, have attempted to work with the Appleton family to explore every option available to make the property safe for them to live in.

“This follows Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service determining that the house was a serious fire hazard.

“Despite our efforts and those of our partners and people within the community, we have repeatedly been denied access to the property to carry out up-to-date safety inspections and have been unable to reach an agreement that would allow the property to be cleared to reduce the fire risk.

“We never take action like this lightly, but after exhausting all other options, we were left with no alternative but to seek a possession order. We have followed the ruling of the court throughout this case and we will continue to work with Cheshire West and Chester Council to ensure the Appleton brothers are offered support by the local authority.

“The safety of our tenants and neighbours must come first, and our priority throughout this case has been to make the house safe for those living in the property, neighbours and others visiting the home.”