A SINGLE father whose tragic circumstances meant he was struggling to keep a roof over his head, will find out in the next few weeks whether his plea for permanent housing has been accepted.

A SINGLE father whose tragic circumstances meant he was struggling to keep a roof over his head, will find out in the next few weeks whether his plea for permanent housing has been accepted.

Under the points system Gary Chaplin whose girlfriend died in the weeks after giving birth to their son can only bid for homes under the silver banding and urgently needs to be upgraded to gold.

Mr Chaplin who works full time while two year old Kaiden is at nursery faced homelessness when his mother had to leave the home they shared.

At the eleventh hour he was given temporary accommodation in King Street, Great Yarmouth. The 21-year-old was building a successful career in the army when his girlfriend Rebecca Iverson, 17, died from a blood disorder triggered by her pregnancy. He came out of the army to care for their little boy but despite finding full time work was unable to find an affordable home.

He said the flat was fine, but that he was still pinning his hopes on an upgrade to gold helping the family towards a more settled life.