Peering through a gap in the curtains at my car parked on the street, I shuddered in fear as I realised it had been scratched again. It was May 2021 and I’d not long moved into my new home with my two kids Sophie*, then eight, and William*, five. I was a single mum and our new home wasn’t in a very nice neighbourhood. Parking outside was supposed to be on a first come, first served basis. But other residents had started shouting abuse at me and damaged my car in retaliation for taking ‘their’ spaces.
It was taking its toll on my mental health and I had become a quivering wreck. I hated leaving the house to go to my office job
