A charity has come to the rescue of a homeless couple who have been sleeping rough in their car for nearly three weeks.

Tracy and Paul Hanna have been parking up in New Forest car parks to get a quiet night's sleep. They have been separated from Tracy's two teenage children who have been staying with friends.

Following an appeal for help in the Daily Echo, Waterside charity Dibden Allotments has stepped in and provided the family with £1,000 for a fresh start.

Tracy, 35, said: "We are ecstatic - it's such a relief and we can't thank them enough. We are desperately looking for a property to rent in the Waterside now and it's a case of going for whatever we can get.

"We have still probably got a few more nights in the car, but at least we can see an end to it."

Motorbike courier Paul, 37, and Tracy were caught in a vicious circle since running up arrears on their rented Fawley home due to ill health. They were evicted and classed as voluntarily homeless by New Forest District Council due to the arrears. They did not have money to put down a deposit to rent somewhere and could not claim housing benefit because they had no address.

Their only option was to live in their Nissan estate until Paul's work earned them enough for a deposit.

Teresa Moore at the Waterside Citizen's Advice Bureau put the Hannas in touch with the charity. She said: "I am very pleased and relieved. Mr and Mrs Hanna became homeless after a series of problems and ill health and, despite making every effort to help themselves, found themselves homeless and without assistance.

"Most people assume there is a safety net, such as the local authority or social services, to help people in such desperate situations and therefore homeless people like Mr and Mrs Hanna must have done something to deserve what's happened to them.

"We frequently see clients who have been unable to get the help that they need. Without the intervention of a charity, I believe they would have been homeless for a long time."

The Dibden Allotments charity was set up in 1995 when allotments in Claypits Lane were sold to Tesco. The proceeds were invested and the charity distributes income from these investments to help people in Hythe, Dibden, Fawley or Marchwood who are in need of help.