A homeless couple living in their car have called for Buckinghamshire Council to urgently help them find a home.

Emil Tosnar, 39, and Julie Clifford, 49, have been homeless since December 18, parking up each night in a different spot and sleeping in the reclined front seats of the vehicle.

“I just need a bed,” said Julie, “I can’t take much more. I don’t know how much longer I can do it.”

The couple, both from High Wycombe, were living with Emil’s elderly father but say they were forced to leave after the relationship with him “broke down”.

The couple, who say they have been verified as homeless twice, are spending most of their benefit payments on petrol and food.

The boot of their car is stuffed with clothes, blankets and other belongings, pressed against the vehicle’s soft-top roof and windows.

“It is freezing at night time,” Julie added, “So, so cold. You can’t get warm no matter what. I’m crying in the night.”

The couple are surviving on “crisps, sweets and junk food” and are not able to prepare “proper, healthy food”.

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They have been assigned a council housing officer, who they claim has only spoken to them once since they became homeless.

Julie said: “She doesn’t get in touch. She doesn’t reply to us. I can’t take much more of it.”

Emil, a former builder, added: “To be sleeping in that car for a month is a killer. It is not good at all. It has gone on long enough. It is killing us.”

The couple claim the council told them that “they are not a high priority” for finding accommodation.

Just after Christmas, they gave the council a letter written by Julie’s doctor, saying that she “urgently” needed to be accommodated.

Julie, who has a stent in her heart, said she was suffering with her mental health and is “on a lot of medication”.

The couple allege that the council stood by its original decision that “they are not a high priority” for housing despite receiving the doctor’s letter.

The council has given the pair “emergency accommodation” in a hotel for several days this month due to the freezing weather conditions.

Emil and Julie said they accepted an offer from the council of accommodation in northern England and “filled out the application” but have not heard back since.

Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Homelessness and Regulatory Services Councillor Mark Winn said: "For confidentiality reasons and to protect individuals' welfare, we do not publicly discuss details of people’s personal housing cases.

"However, we will be in contact with this couple today and continue to offer support to help them to resolve the issues. We strongly urge them to engage with us.

"People being assisted by our homelessness service are supported by a team of people who help with individuals' general welfare issues to try to find permanent solutions to the issues that contribute to their homeless status.

"Complaints about service provision are dealt with through our complaints process and where necessary through the Ombudsman."