A family was forced to live in a caravan for months after being booted out of their beachside home - as tourism and property prices continue to boom.
Laura Williams, 35, and her family were evicted from their home of four years and forced to spend six months at Calloose Caravan and Camping Park in Cornwall.
It comes as Newquay residents say they have been have been priced out or evicted from their homes and and left with no other option but to stay in caravan parks.
Cornwall has seen a huge wave of city goers relocate to its stunning coastline since the pandemic, with house prices rising more than 50 per cent faster than the UK average in 2020.
The average price soared to £270,000 which is 13 times higher than the average local salary of around £21,000.
Laura and her fisherman husband Jason, 39, had been renting their three bedroom house in Newlyn for £750 per month with their children aged nine, six, four and two.
Last September, they were hit with a section 21 no-fault eviction order from their landlord claiming she wanted to move into the property.
But it was then offered for rent on the open market with a £350 increase at £1,100 per month.
Laura told The Sun : “I doubt she ever had any intention of moving in herself. She’s got five or six other properties and they’re much more luxurious than ours was.
“She just wanted to take advantage of the steep rise in the rental market after lockdown because so many people wanted to move here during the pandemic.”
More than 100 tenants are applying for each property when it hits the rental market in Cornwall, with locals struggling to stay in their home towns.
Landlords and second home owners have been snapping up property in scenic Cornwall to escape from cramped cities such as London.
Cornwall Council provided Laura and her family emergency housing at a caravan and camping site in Leedstown, 25 miles away from their home.
The family of six moved into a three bedroom static caravan at the Calloose Caravan and Camping Park, costing the taxpayer a staggering £2,058 a month.
They are among 22 families to be rehoused at the site which agreed an off-season rental price for the council, amounting to an estimated £270,000 over six months.
While the caravan park owners appear to rake in cash, Laura said it's not their fault and that the real problem is the lack of social housing in Cornwall.
“We’ve got a ludicrous situation where more than 100 families apply for every property that comes on to the rental market now in Cornwall," she said.
“It’s heartbreaking. We just have to watch house prices and rent prices go through the roof knowing we’re stuck."
Laura said the idea that she will ever own her own property "has long gone" with the rising house prices meaning she would need a deposit of £50,000.
The mum said her family are currently living in temporary accommodation in Newlyn again at a cost of £738 per month but that most locals have been driven away by rising prices.
She told how popular Cornish are "like ghost towns" with no lights on in the winter, when tourists and second home owners are not there.
Scott Richards, 29, is another example of a Cornish resident who has been evicted from his home town in Newquay.
The builder moved into a two bedroom rented cottage for £850 per month with his girlfriend Lisa and was handed eviction papers after just six months.
They were told that they would have to be out before Christmas with the landlord wanting to sell the property.
After viewing dozens of properties, they were unable to find an alternative with local landlords asking for rents of up to £1,400 per month.
They eventually found somewhere for January and their landlord allowed them to stay on for another month to bridge the gap but were left "totally drained" by their ordeal.
"It's been a terrible experience, and we feel so sorry for the many many people who end up with nowhere to go. Many have ended up in emergency accommodation," Scott said.
The Mirror Online has contacted Cornwall Council for comment.
