Radiation fears force Eastham man to quit his home and live in his car

An Eastham man has moved out of his home and is now living in his car because of what he claims is a serious radiation problem.

Phil Lewis, 57, lives alone with his dog at a property in Thornleigh Avenue.

But for the past few months he has chosen not to live in the house and to instead live in his Citroen C1, which is parked up outside.

Mr Lewis's dog, Jackson, also lives with him in the car – but spends a lot of time outside.

The 57-year-old says that if he spends more than 20 minutes in his Magenta Living rented house, he becomes unwell, suffers with palpitations and dry skin – which he believes is down to radiation.

But Magenta said they have been in contact with Mr Lewis about his issues and have shown him a radiation reading from the house which was normal.

Mr Lewis said: "I can't stay in there, it needs condemning."

He said Jackson struggles in the house too, adding: "After about half-an-hour [in the house] he curls up in a ball or just starts weeping."

Mr Lewis said he is unable to work due to illness and has been forced to cash in his pension just to carry on living, an existence he currently carries out inside his Citroen C1.

He described this situation as "horrendous" and complained that Magenta has not sent anyone to his home to check his claims on radiation, although Magenta insists that it has done so.

Mr Lewis also claimed Magenta has refused to allow him to move to another home, saying the home is perfectly fine to live in.

A Magenta Living spokesperson said: "Magenta Living has been in contact with Mr Lewis regarding his concerns about radiation and a Team Leader from our Neighbourhood Management Service visited his home and was shown the radiation level readings on his own device, which showed as being normal.

"In an attempt to reassure him, we have consulted with the Radiation Protection Team at Public Health England.

"They confirmed that the levels of radiation in his home are what you could reasonably expect from natural background exposure rates and any ill health and symptoms he has are not the result of exposure to ionising radiation.

"We will continue to offer support and reassure Mr Lewis about his concerns and discuss further his rehousing options."

On what he plans to do next, Mr Lewis added: "I'm going to buy a van to live in, that's my future."

"I'll either swap the house or give it up.

"I'm trying to get it swapped, but I don't want to swap and put someone in there. I guarantee they would get ill."

A Public Health England spokesperson said: "We do not comment on individual cases, however we have offered appropriate reassurance in this matter."