51�Թ�

"It's not affordable anymore. I have to have a lodger live in my house just to help me pay and keep my head above water," Kathy added.

While he and his lodger informally split costs, Oliver covers all the housing payments.

With conditions somewhat cramped at his sister's home, Richard moved into the house of Ma Smith, where Philip was a lodger.

Another neighbour said when police first arrived at the family's "immaculate" semi-detached house in July 2023, she had thought one of the lodgers they sometimes hosted must have been in trouble.

"It was my dream house and I had just decorated it as I was planning to have lodgers living with me," she said.