A hard-working couple are struggling to find a new home to rent because they were made bankrupt six years ago.

Sivane and Eddie Rusi have to move house in June because their landlord wants to sell the property they have lived in for nearly six years.

But their efforts to find somewhere else to live flounder every time a letting agent does a credit check on the couple.

Mr and Mrs Rusi, who are both 51, were declared bankrupt in August 2009 after their business, Twydall Bakery, in Twydall Green, failed during the recession.

The couple, who have two children, a son aged 27 and an 18-year-old daughter and two grandchildren, also lost the home they owned because it was repossessed. Both had to start afresh and found employment to get themselves back on track.

Mr Rusi got a job on the railways and Mrs Rusi became a community carer and they lived happily in their home in Woodlands Road until they were told to start looking for somewhere else to live.

Mrs Rusi said: “We’ve tried letting agent after letting agent and we pay them to do the credit checks on us and they come back and say they can’t help us because we were made bankrupt six years ago. We are hard-working people. We pay our taxes and have always paid our rent.

“We have never been in arrears and we have a deposit to be able to pay for a new rented home but we’ve been turned away by several letting agents in the Towns.

“We even tried the one we are currently with, but staff told us they had no homes available for renting at the moment.

“It’s very stressful. It seems we are being penalised for something that happened to us a long time ago.

“I really don’t want to head down to the council when I’ve been evicted with all my worldly possessions asking them to help me.

“My husband and I want to help ourselves, but no one is letting us do that.”

A spokesman for housing charity Shelter said: “For many families, private renting is their only option.

“Families now make up nearly one-third of private renters and if more landlords turn them away this will make it near impossible for many to find anywhere half-decent to live.

“Politicians must make private rented homes a stable place to put down roots.”