MORE than £18,000 has been raised for a Southampton family in an effort to keep their home.

Sofeia Neelum Saddiq has lived in the same house with her family on Hatington Road, St Mary’s all her life, after her parents bought the property in 1988.

But now they risk having the house repossessed by mortgage lenders if they can’t raise the full £56,000 by the end of next week.

The Saddiq’s originally had savings to pay off the mortgage, but in 2012, Sofeia’s late father took out £20,000 to start his own mechanics garage in Northam – without telling his family.

Four years later the firm folded, leaving them penniless.

Now, £18,319 has been donated after Sofeia and her two brothers launched a GoFundMe page in an effort to raise enough cash.

The page has a target of £56,000, which is needed to keep the property with the family.

They say the page is their “last resort”.

Speaking to the Echo, Sofeia added that although they have forgiven their father for taking the money, he suddenly died two years ago following a short illness, leaving the family struggling to find a way to pay off the debt.

Daily Echo: Sofeia Neelum Saddiq with her brother Abass and cat, Milly.Sofeia Neelum Saddiq with her brother Abass and cat, Milly.

Sofeia, 28, lives in the house with her brothers, Sadiq and Abass, as well as her mum, who is disabled.

She said: “The past two years have been very difficult for us as a family, especially for our mother who lost her husband and her mother in the course of months.

“For the past year, we have tried every possible option to raise the money to pay off the remaining mortgage.

“Now the only option we have been given by the mortgage lender is for us to have our house repossessed, which we want to avoid at any cost or sell.”

She added that the family can’t take out any loans to pay off the mortgage as a result of their credit scores.

The page was set up on April 30 and the family say they have been given a deadline of June 6 by the bank, which they are trying to get extended.

They are now sharing the page as much as they can in an effort to raise the funds.

Sofeia added: “This house has been part of our life for 33 years so we don’t want to see it go.”

The page can be found here.