Susan Moysey, 46, is still living in a caravan in her driveway with her husband and three children, Yann, 15, Nadia, 11, and Kian, 9, after their home in Tewkesbury was flooded in the summer. They are one of 750 Gloucestershire families facing Christmas in a caravan.

“We will adapt, we’ll put bits of tinsel on the bed rails, and on the cupboards,” she said. “But we don’t have any space for a tree, a nativity scene or what’s left of our decorations.

“But we have to put the effort in for the children. They’re still excited about it all. Luckily, we normally go to see my parents in Kent for Christmas. It will be a nice break: normal beds, normal floors. I couldn’t imagine trying to cook Christmas dinner in a caravan.” Mrs Moysey, a play leader at a local nursery, said she has been so preoccupied with renovation work that she’s only managed a few hours of shopping: “I really do feel we don’t need Christmas. I know it sounds awful, but the commercial side takes up so much time.

The family have been sleeping in the caravan since August 17, and Mrs Moysey said living five-to-a-room in the confined space had been challenging: “It gets to everybody, it really does. Living in such close quarters is so stressful, sometimes you think the roof will blow off the caravan.”

She added that despite this, her children were adapting: “You just have to think: how can we do this?

“My eldest is doing his GCSEs, and he’s still managing to do his revision and his homework.”

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