She brought up Ainsley and charity worker brother Cordi in council houses and temporary accommodation around Ilford, East London

She began living in the box three months ago after she and her son fell out

Arsenal star Ainsley Maitland-Niles' mother claims she is homeless and sleeps in a 10 foot metal storage crate while he lives in a £700,000 apartment.

Jule Niles, 38, said the £30,000-a-week footballer refused to be a guarantor so she could rent a flat.

While he shares a luxury home with brother Cordi she has to sneak past staff at the Big Yellow Storage warehouse to sleep in the freezing container.

This season Ainsley, who is a midfielder, winger or right back, has played nine league and eight European games for Arsenal

She spent Christmas Day there, cold and alone, before getting lunch at a nearby homeless centre.

Now she spends her days sitting in coffee shops or the local library to stay warm and pays £2 to shower at a local swimming pool in a bid to hide that she has nowhere to go.

Jule said she began living in the box three months ago after her relationship broke down with Ainsley, 20, who is rated at £15 million.

She said: 'It's a metal container with no windows or carpet. There is no toilet or washing facilities.

'My son Ainsley could buy me a flat with two weeks or two month's wages.

'But the money's gone to his head and I'm in this position.

'My son plays for Arsenal and I am homeless and in a storage unit.

'It's not a home. I know what home feels like - to be able to shower, brush your teeth and sit in your room.

'All that I miss - but most of all I miss my family.

'It's horrible. I just want to know what I've done wrong.'

Jule says she lives in fear that warehouse staff will realise she is sleeping in the container and turf her out on the streets.

She said: 'I wait until everyone has gone home and slip into the unit when it is dark. It is heartbreaking.

'The area is covered in snow and it's not been above freezing for days. I heard a homeless man died here overnight on Thursday.'

Jule sat on a bare mattress on the container's floor and told how she brought up Ainsley and charity worker Cordi in council houses and temporary accommodation in and around Ilford, East London.

Around her are family photos, including dog-eared pictures of Ainsley playing football as a toddler.

Crammed into boxes are his first contracts with the club, and snaps of him grinning as he signs the paperwork.

Jule told how when the boys were growing up she was sometimes so poor that she went hungry so they could eat and often considered stealing food.

Ainsley was spotted by Arsenal scouts and signed for the club's academy when he was six.

All her sacrifices appeared to have paid off when in December 2014 he made his debut for The Gunners aged 17 in the Champions League against Galatasaray.

Four days later he made his Premier League debut in a 4-1 victory over Newcastle United.

He said: 'I want to thank my family and God mostly for putting me here.'

Asked what he would do with his match shirt, he said: 'I think I'll frame it and give it to my mum.'

This season Ainsley, who is a midfielder, winger or right back, has played nine league and eight European games for Arsenal.

The North London club are keen to secure the youngster, who has represented England from Under-17 to Under-21 level, on a long-term contract that could double his annual £1.5million wages.

He and Cordi, 23, currently live in a new development in upmarket Finchley, North London.

Jule's tiny padlocked crate is in an industrial unit just off the M25 in Hertfordshire.

When Ainsley's career took off he initially paid the rent so he, Jule and Cordi could live in a three-bedroom home near Arsenal's training centre in Hertfordshire.

But in March 2015 Jule had a bust-up with staff there during a meeting to discuss Ainsley's future.

She was accused of clashing with the club's chief negotiator Dick Law and was arrested amid claims the row had turned violent. Jule was released and police took no action.

The next year Ainsley joined Ipswich on loan.

Jule was then accused of leaving an X-rated message on manager Mick McCarthy's phone after he refused to let the teenager attend an England kit launch.

She denies the claims.

Soon after Jule went on an extended break to Australia, paid for by her son. When she returned in August 2016, Ainsley picked her up from the airport.

But Jule said she noticed both her sons were being 'off' with her.

She claims that days later she woke to find they had moved out of the home with their belongings in the middle of the night.

Jule was so panicked, she thought they had been kidnapped and reported them missing to police. She then raced to Arsenal's training ground and waited for Ainsley.

He gave her a lift back to the house but as they parted he simply said: 'I just want to live my life.'

Jule is convinced he has been advised to distance himself from her for the good of his career.

The mum was given six months to find a new home - and when she could not she was kicked out.

She said: 'I couldn't believe it. I was devastated.'

Jule, a childcare worker, said she could not find anywhere to rent because she is on a zero-hours contract and her income is irregular.

And she said she could not find anyone to stand as a guarantor for her on a flat.

As she grew up in care she has no family to turn to other than her sons.

Jule said: 'I had to leave the family home because it was beyond what I could afford. Ainsley refused to be a guarantor for me.'

She lived for a while out of the back of a van in the car park of a Premier Inn and sofa-surfed.

But in December she moved into the container, which she pays £346 a month for.

Jule said she sent pictures of her at the Big Yellow unit to both her sons to show them her living conditions.

She said Ainsley replied saying: 'What's your situation?'

He offered her £1,200 but after that she heard nothing and the money is useless as she still needs a guarantor.

Jule said that since the rift Ainsley has occasionally sent her money, giving hundreds of pounds each time, but she is desperate for her boys to speak to her and tell her what she has done wrong.

She added: 'I believe there are very dark forces operating within football.

'They want to see me down, because the longer Ainsley is away from me the less of a positive influence I can exert over him.

'There are times when I have sat on my own and cried.

'It wouldn't matter if Ainsley lost all the money tomorrow. He and Cordi are my sons and I love them. I just want them to know that.'

A source close to Ainsley said he was unaware Jule was living in a storage container.

The source said he has given her money - and continues to do so.

Arsenal and Maitland-Niles declined to comment.