Single Mum Who Shares Flat With 7 Children Hits Back At Strangers Who Think She's A Benefits Scrounger

A single mum who lives in a cramped three-bedroom flat with her seven children says she has had to defend herself from strangers who think she's a benefits scrounger.

The 35-year-old mum, Corinne, says she is "put into a box" due to the size of her family, even though she runs a Caribbean takeaway and works 10 hours a day, six days a week to take care of her children.

But Corinne revealed how she is massively in debt as her business struggles and she spends roughly £800 on food and up to £400 on clothing every month.

And the family have practically no personal space or privacy in their three-bedroom maisonette, where six of the children share two bedrooms.

Corinne and her children were featured on Big Family Values: More Kids than Cash, a new Channel 5 documentary which explores how big families make ends meet.

The programme did not explain what, if any, benefits they claim.

In the documentary, Corinne says: "People think, 'Are they on benefits? Are they scrounging? Are they doing this?'


"You're put into a box. So for me, I want to show my kids is get up go to work, earn your keep - you'll be rewarded at the end."

After becoming a mum in her teens, Corrine completed her A-levels and received a degree, and has now gone on to run her own restaurant.


But her takeaway in north London only breaks even and Corinne is about £35,000 in debt.