The oldest mum of quadruplets in the UK is living with her children in two rooms at a Travelodge hotel, while their dad sleeps at his mum's house.
Tracey Britten was 50 when she gave birth to the four and now almost five years on she and her kids are staying at the budget hotel after being made homeless, reports the Daily Mirror.
The now-55-year-old travels for an hour and a half each day for the round trip to the children's nursery school.
Tracey uses a plug-in slower cooker and milk is kept tepid in a few inches of bath water because she has no cooking facilities.
The family sleeps in one room and use the other one as a sort of 'play room' for the kids.
The tired mum is also forced to spend £40 each time she uses the laundrette to wash clothes.
The family have been at the hotel for two months now - after vacating their four-bedroom rented house in Enfield, North London, in February. They've been warned they could be there 10 years.
"I feel untidy, grotty, and there are days I don’t want to get out of bed, but I have to stay strong, to keep going for them," Tracey said, speaking to the Daily Mail.
Tracey broke the record for the oldest mum to give birth to quadruplets in October 2018 after IVF treatment in Cyprus, costing £7,000 - and paid for by inheritance from her late mum.
She and husband, Stephen, were hoping for one baby but got Grace, George and identical twins Fredrica and Francesca.
When Tracey was told she was expecting four babies she burst into tears and wondered how she would cope.
Doctors had advised 'reducing' the pregnancy, and warned Tracey that the hopes of all surviving were slim but they all made it, arriving nine weeks premature at London's University College Hospital.
The children spent their first two months in special care, as the story attracted global attention after Tracey went on ITV's This Morning with her babies.
During those initial days, she had to pre-prepare up to 28 bottles of formula were pre-preapred and kept in a huge fridge.
Husband, Stephen works as a roofer to support the family, while Tracey, who is qualified as an aesthetician, administering Botox, fillers and skin treatments, had planned to rent a room in a clinic once the kids were at school.
However, their landlord decided to sell up and they couldn't find anywhere else they could afford.
"I feel terrible that they are having to live like this, though none of it is their fault, and I’ll do whatever I can to find us another lovely, stable home," Tracey said.
The children make a lot of noise in their small living space, as they burn off energy, while George also has autism and is only content when listening to nursery rhymes.
Tracey and Stephen are still together, and he spends time there each day after work and on weekends.
Tracey says he sleeps at his mum's house, which isn't big enough for them all.
"He couldn’t cope with being here all the time," said Tracey. "He doesn’t like enclosed spaces and the aircon would set off his asthma.
Rent on their previous home was £2,100 a month - all but £200 was covered by housing benefit payments.
Now they are struggling to find anywhere with at least three bedrooms for under £3,000 a month.
The mum approached her local council about getting a house but was told she would need to be actually homeless and not just being evicted before they could be added to the waiting list - and even then it could take a decade.
The council did, however, give them the emergency hotel accommodation and is now forking out the £2,500 a week to cover the bill for the rooms.
Tracey said: "I’ve said we’ll take a two-bedroom place, at least then we’d have a kitchen, but I’m told they’re not legally allowed to house us anywhere with fewer than three — and yet they can keep us here!"
The family want to stay in London to be close to Tracey's three grown-up kids from a previous marriage and 10 grandkids.
Tracey thought she was having a heart attack the night before moving into the hotel and called an ambulance but paramedics said it was an extreme anxiety attack.
Almost every day Tracey says she receives a call from the nursery saying one of the kids is unwell - and she fears this is caused by heat of the rooms at night or the air conditioning.
She is "forever administering Calpol" as a result.
Tracey says she survives on around three hours sleep a night and is also worried about her chances of getting all of the children into the same primary school come September.
"If I didn’t have four children, I wouldn’t be in this situation, but I’ve never once thought why did I have them?" she said.
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