April Fillingham said she never imagined she would have to make the choice between sleeping on the streets or living in a Wendy house.

Yet the tiny, wooden shed at the end of her mother’s garden in Wigan is now her home.

The 27-year-old says it’s the best option she has until a suitable council property becomes available.

“I either sleep here or in a doorway,” says April, perched on the edge of a mattress crammed into the damp children’s playhouse.

April, from Hindley, has been sleeping in the Wendy house for the last six months. She said was unable to sofa-surf at friends' houses any longer.

She says she has lived in shared private accommodation.

April claims the council has not done enough to help her get out of the desperate situation - and that she is the victim of a ‘mental’ housing system.

Housing bosses say April's three previous council tenancies ended ‘due to anti-social behaviour’, and that April has refused help from the town hall's homeless team.

(Image: Joel Goodman)

With April and the council at odds, she says she fears was supposed to be a temporary measure is now looking increasingly long-term.

April says the prospect of sleeping in a shed during the harsh winter months fills her with dread.

She and her mum Debbie, 55, are close. But April says living under one roof small home is not an option for the pair.

They keep different hours and Debbie’s home, is simply not big enough for two people, April says.

In the spring, they decided it would be best for both of them if April slept in the shed.

Measuring only 6ft by 6ft4, the small wooden hut has become a makeshift bedroom for April.

A foam mattress and duvets take up all of the floor space and a television covers one of the side ‘walls’.

The shed is just long enough for April to lie down and sleep.

It does have electricity, meaning April can plug in a television and charge her mobile phone.

“It’s the only space I have got to call my own,” says April.

(Image: Joel Goodman)

“It’s the space where I don’t feel like I’m in anyone’s way. Where I don’t feel like I have to make conversation to be polite because I am in someone else’s home.

“I need this little bit of space to myself.”

All April wants, she says, is a ‘normal’ life and place to call her own.

She loves animals, playing guitar and cooking. She says her life is on hold until she finds somewhere to live.

“It does embarrass me,” she says.

“It’s not like having a proper life. We all want normal things, like love and living on our own.

“I can’t have a relationship while I’m living like this.”

April says her difficulties finding a permanent home go back many years.

She says she had a difficult childhood and that she has long-term mental health problems. She is also a self-confessed cannabis user.

April said her relationship with her mother broke down as a teenager. She moved out, spent a year in care and had various spells in supported accommodation for vulnerable young adults.

She never finished school and ended up working in a tattoo shop as a piercist.

April says her mental health problems have left her with shaking hands.

(Image: Joel Goodman)

"When you have night traumas and you have the shakes, you can't be a piercist," she says.

"I have got the motivation to get back into work."

April did have her own flat between 2008 and 2009, but she says her tenancy unravelled due to an ongoing 'dispute' with a neighbour.

She acknowledges she was evicted by the council in 2010 after being in two other town hall properties.

April says she has long-term mental health issues. She says she in on medication for depression and suffers with suicidal thoughts and night traumas.

She claims to have been the victim of discrimination and abuse all of her adult life because of her appearance and her sexuality.

“When you’re a lesbian and look the way I do, people are quick to judge and comment on your appearance.

“People think that because you have tattoos and piercings, or different hair they can just come up to you and touch you.

(Image: Joel Goodman)

“I have been discriminated against all my life because I’m different.”

For this reason, April says she doesn’t feel safe in shared accommodation.

“Hostels or shared accommodation are not safe places for someone like me,” she says.

April says that every Thursday at 9am, she logs onto the Wigan council website and bids for various properties across the borough.

She says she is frustrated at the number of council flats she claims are sitting empty in Hindley.

One property opposite her mum’s bungalow hasn’t had tenants for more than five months, April claims.

“It’s frustrating because I can see it right there,” she says.

“It would be ideal because it’s so near to my mum. I want to stay in Hindley because my mum’s here, my nan and all my friends. My support network is here.”

April says that if it wasn’t for her family, her friends and their children, she would give up.

She says her pet cat, Wellard, her ferret Rupert and her two rabbits are her 'therapy'.

“How much fight can one person have?” she says.

(Image: Joel Goodman)

“It’s a mental system that’s affected me for about 10 years. I want a life back. I want a job. I want to learn how to drive. I want a little van so I can go and work at festivals.

“How do you get any of these things when you don’t have an address?”

April admits she has made mistakes in the past. She said she fell into rent arrears in private rented accommodation, and struggled to get out of debt. But she says she can no longer see a way out of homelessness.

Wigan council bosses say April has been rehoused twice because of 'disruptive behaviour' and was evicted in 2010.

Town hall chiefs disputes April’s claim that officials have failed to support her properly and help her find accommodation.

When April started living in the shed six months ago, the council said she did approach them them for a homelessness assessment.

They say the amount of money April receives for housing in her benefits is not enough to pay for a one bedroom flat.

Instead, she should consider a shared house in the private rented sector, the council said.

Wigan council said its ‘bond scheme’ would be able to help assist with the financial requirements, such as a deposit.

Bosses claim April would not consider living in a privately-owned property, and would only accept a one-bed flat in Hindley. This, the council says, is not an affordable option for her.

Joanne Willmott, assistant director of provider management and market development, said: “We are committed to helping individuals into stable accommodation and working with our partners to ensure people receive the right support.

“Unfortunately April has had three previous council tenancies which have all ended due to anti-social behaviour. As a responsible council we have a duty to protect other residents.

“We have made an offer of temporary accommodation and are also providing ongoing advice and support whilst we work together to achieve a more permanent and stable tenancy."