AN 84-year-old widow has been dramatically evicted from the family home she has lived in for five decades, the Daily Echo can reveal.

Mary Heywood looked pale and frightened as bailiffs ushered her from the front door into a waiting taxi filled with suitcases containing her life’s possessions.

Locksmiths then moved into the £190,000 terraced house to change the locks as the building society took possession.

Daily Echo:

The pensioner was thrown out of the Southampton home with her son Philip, who had failed to pay the mortgage.

Building society Nationwide said it took the action serving its fourth and final eviction notice after making continued attempts to forge a deal.

Now Mr Heywood has warned other homeowners about falling into arrears and the importance of seeking help before it is too late. He added that the eviction was the climax of a legacy of huge debts racked up following the death of his father.

Mrs Heywood and late husband Ernest bought the house in Macnaghten Road, Bitterne, in 1969. Their only son Philip took over the mortgage from his elderly father in 2004.

But he told how he reduced his hours as a self-employed computer programmer when his father went into hospital and eventually died in 2011 aged 84.

Mr Heywood added that he struggled to cope with the bereavement and work began to dry up as the debts rose to tens of thousands of pounds.

He initially hid the news from his mother but was forced to confess before the previous threat of eviction shortly before he was granted a last-minute reprieve minutes after bailiffs came knocking.

Daily Echo: Philip Heywood.

Nationwide took the action after he failed to find the money, a new job or alternative employment.

Their closest relatives live in Ireland and they have few close friends and neighbours.

The 54-year-old said: “It’s my fault that it’s got to this point “I’ve handled things badly and perhaps I’ve made some bad decisions.

“I just wish that I could turn back time. I’ve lived here almost all my life so it’s part of my life.”

He added: “At the end of the day this is something that isn’t going to go away. It will catch up with you in the end.”

A spokeswoman for Nationwide defended the organisation’s decision, saying they had shown “significant forbearance” over a long period.

They said: “This is a case where we have gone above and beyond what would be expected of a reasonable lender and have made numerous attempts to help Mr Heywood find a solution which works for him and for the society.

"We do, though, owe it to our wider membership to ensure that we do not sustain losses from such situations as this as, over time, this will affect the viability and sustainability of their building society.”

It is unclear where Mr Heywood and his mother spent last night but a spokeswoman for Southampton City Council urged the elderly woman to get in touch with them.

She said: “We will do our best to help a resident in such a situation and urgently encourage them to contact our homelessness unit as soon as possible for an assessment.”