In the following months, she bought a house in the suburbs and talked about how excited she was to wake up along with her two children, Haley and Hope, and see them off to school.

“I’m too proud to ask for help, but my worldly possessions right now are the clothes that I was wearing and a toothbrush that I bought yesterday,” Hall said.

"He'd gone locally into a business where it was easy to buy cigarettes and alcohol and that is where the grooming started," she said.

This time last year the major lenders greatly discounted mortgages in a battle for market share ahead of the key moments for house buying.

But Amorim has already said he needs to sell before he can buy and clarified the situation further when he spoke on Friday.