Model joins unfit homes 'sit in'

Model Nell McAndrew has become the first protester to join homeless charity Shelter's "sit in" campaign to help British children in unfit housing
The charity hopes to raise awareness of the education and health problems unfit housing causes for children.

It says more than a million children in the UK overcrowded, unfit and emergency accommodation.

The campaign features a red armchair, in which Ms McAndrew posed in London ahead of its nationwide tour.

'Damp and dangerous'

The red armchair will visit 25 towns and cities over the coming four months to promote the charity's Million Children Campaign.

Shelter hopes members of the public will pose for photographs sitting in the chair to create a "physical petition".

The pictures will go on display in an exhibition of supporters in the New Year.

In Britain, over a million children are suffering in damp and dangerous homes, living in fear of eviction and debt
Adam Sampson

Shelter director Adam Sampson said: "In Britain, over a million children are suffering in damp and dangerous homes, living in fear of eviction and debt. Some have lost their homes already.
"We hope that thousands of people will register their protest and that their elected representatives will commit to ending bad housing for the next generation of children."

Ms McAndrew pose for photographs in the chair opposite the Houses of Parliament on London's South Bank.

She said: "My home is so important to me and I know the difference a safe, secure, comfortable home can make to a family.

"Yet for more than one million children in Britain, a decent home is a distant dream."