West Midlands couple who had baby boy on Christmas Day have been without a home since April

A West Midlands couple whose baby was the first born at Russells Hall Hospital on Christmas Day have been told by Dudley Council there is no room at the inn.

In what is a real life nativity story, little Freddie Jay was born at 1.10am on December 25, the first of three babies born at the hospital that day. But mum Chloe Bennett and father Jamie Smith, from Kingswinford, have been homeless and sleeping on friends' sofas since April.

Chloe was already pregnant at the time and the couple found they couldn't afford private accommodation due to rocketing rent prices, so they applied to Dudley Council in May, thinking they would be a priority – but say they have heard nothing since. The couple, who both work, are now living at Jamie's mother Julie's two-bedroomed house on the Crestwood estate, where she lives with her husband and another son.

Julie said: "I liken them to the Black Country version of Joseph and Mary because they have been offered nothing by Dudley Council despite Chloe being pregnant since April. They have met the criteria stated on the application but have heard nothing and not even been offered temporary accommodation. It's a good job they have had family and friends looking out for them or I'm not sure where they would have been."

Chloe said things had been 'trying' during the pregnancy due to the uncertainty of where they would be living when Freddie was born. She said: "All the communication with Dudley Council has been based on me getting in touch with them – there has been no offers or even a phone call.

"Freddie is living in the lounge at the moment with people coming in and out, which isn't ideal. It might be okay in the short term but we need to think about the long run. Rents have rocketed and we would go private if we could but don't have the money for deposits or to set ourselves up, which is why we went to the council in the first place."

A spokesman for Dudley Council said: "We can confirm that we received a housing application from the couple in May. We contacted them at the beginning of July in regard to their application and to advise that re-registration was necessary.

“According to our records, the couple did not re-register their application and so it was not processed. We would urge the couple to get in touch with us via Dudley Council Plus so we can talk through their housing options and discuss the ways we can help.”