A father of five trying to find a better life for his family is in despair after a house-swap fell through.

Robert Plowman, 42, of Glebe Road, Didcot, stripped wallpaper from the walls and threw out a carpet at the request of the woman who was to take over the tenancy of his Sovereign Housing Association home.

He had everything packed and was ready to move into her house in Ashurst Way, Rose Hill, Oxford.

Then came the bombshell. "I went to Rose Hill to sign all the papers for the swap only to be told by Oxford City Council officials that the swap was off.

"I had no other choice than return to Didcot and a house stripped of wallpaper and with everything packed up."

Mr Plowman, who has custody of his five children Stacey, 12, Carl, ten, Ian, nine, Joseph, eight, and Shanice, five, said: "I am a single parent, staying at home to look after my family after my marriage broke down, and I simply do not have the money to redecorate this house. The whole thing has been a nightmare." He wanted to move to Rose Hill because Shanice and Joseph both attend a special unit at Rose Hill School.

At the Rose Hill centre of Oxford City Homes, senior estate manager, Laurinda Hornblow,

said: "We always make it crystal clear that the parties in a mutual exchange can pull out at any time, right up to the moment the exchange agreement is signed."

Story date: Friday 03 September

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