I was left homeless after selling my house due to soaring fuel costs – now I live in a caravan

A SCOTS farmer has been forced to live in a caravan due to soaring fuel prices.

Karl Hughes, 59, had to sell his home in Tiree, in the Inner Hebrides, after falling behind on mortgage repayments.

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He moved into the caravan which is parked on land where he keeps sheep and chickens.

As he delivers livestock across the island, his job is affected by the high fuel prices.

It is understood that diesel prices are sitting at around £2.25 a litre at Karl’s local forecourt.

And it’s believed these are among the most expensive prices in Scotland – with petrol prices at £2.18 a litre.

The dad-of-three told how people living on remote islands face a cost of living disaster as the cost of gas cylinders, which heats up their homes, has also seen a price hike.

He told the Daily Record: “People are having to look at car-sharing because they can’t afford to fill up. We just don’t have the money.

“I’m living in a caravan because I had to sell my croft house. It’s all coming to a head.

“People are really starting to suffer here.

“We’re not on the gas mains network so we’re all heating our houses with LPG gas bottles.

“They used to be about £40 and are now £60 each. In the summer, just using it for cooking, that’ll last me 10 days.”

Karl told how people on the island are also struggling with the price of food.

The main shop on Tiree is a Co-op – where residents are on the lookout for discounted food.

And he has had to use the foodbank due to the soaring prices.

He added: “You’re seeing it etched in everyone’s faces – people are scared. You see more people buying the yellow-­stickered food in the shop.

“The whole system is messed up. Everything feels rigged against the people who actually live here and that’s after going through Covid.

“I have to use the food bank, and I’m on Universal Credit because I don’t earn enough and there’s no extra jobs going. I’m just making ends meet.

“There’s a lot of old people here, and if we have a bad winter some of them are going to freeze to death – that’s a fact.”

Jenni Minto, SNP MSP for Argyll and Bute, told the Daily Record tat the rising fuel prices are really impacting on how rural people live their lives.

She added: “Bringing down the cost of fuel is within the gift of the UK Government but barely a day goes by without me speaking to somebody in the Scottish Government to tell them: ‘Remember the islanders’.”

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