A mum-of-two has been left "traumatised" after her housing provider chucked her family's possessions in the bin.
Shellie Mullen, 34, said she "broke down on the spot" when she returned to her old home in Cramlington, Northampton, in January - only to find it had been completely cleared.
Among the items chucked in the skip were family photographs, hospital wrist bands from when her children were born, and her granddad's war medals, Shellie said.
She was there to pack up her family's belongings before moving to their new home - which was supposed to be a "fresh start" for her son, 15, and daughter, 17.
But the move has turned into a "living nightmare" because they don't have the items they need to make their new house a home, she told Chronicle Live.
The family moved out of the house - owned by property management firm "Places for People" - in September last year before moving in with Shellie's mum.
The council put them on a priority list to be rehomed, but Shellie continued to pay rent to the housing provider in full through her Universal Credit.
She told Chronicle Live: "I still had access to the house - and I'd go there to check on our things quite often.
"When we found out we'd finally secured a new property in Newcastle in January, I went with my family to pack up our things.
"To my horror - the place was completely empty. I broke down on the spot."
Places for People have apologised for the upset caused but say they asked Shellie to empty the property in December.
Shellie said that when she called her housing officer, she was given "attitude" and told her things had been taken to the tip.
"My whole life was gone" she said. "Thousands of pounds worth of stuff and so many memories lost.
"Furniture is replaceable, but I can't stop thinking about our pictures, wrist bands from when the kids were born, my grandad's war medals and our birth certificates.
"Nothing could be salvaged and I've had no help from the company since".
Shellie said she was told by the company that they believed the house had been abandoned.
She admits they had contacted her in December, but she said she couldn't get through when she attempted to contact them by phone.
She said the housing company later informed her that they had tried to contact her mum, but that this was "inappropriate" given that she has dementia.
A few days before the possessions were taken, Shellie also said she had been at the house and that there was no notice anywhere on the property.
She has since lodged a formal complaint with the company.
One of Shellie's friends has since set up a GoFundMe page to try and raise funds for the family to furnish their new house.
Responding to the support she's received, Shellie said: "Everybody has really rallied around us, with lots of people from the local area helping.
"It's been overwhelming because I've never been in need like this before, and it's nice to know that people are so kind."
A spokesperson for Places for People said: “We are sorry this situation has caused upset at a difficult time. We have been in contact with Miss Mullen since June 2021, and most recently in December, when we asked Miss Mullen to empty the property.
"We extended the dates to allow Miss Mullen to move her items after her tenancy had ended, before we arranged for the property to be cleared.
"We have been in touch with Miss Mullen to explain the actions that were taken to keep our homes and customers safe.”
