Former model and TV presenter Annabel Giles has been forced to sell her home to raise money for her autistic son's school fees.
By Raf Sanchez
Miss Giles - the one-time face of Max Factor and former wife of pop star Midge Ure - revealed that her fortunes were so diminished she was selling her house to send her son Ted to a specialist school.
She has set her sights on the £31,000-a-year Stanbridge Earls School in Romsey, Hampshire - a boarding school that specialises in educating children with learning difficulties.
In a lengthy blog post, Miss Giles said they had been turned down for financial assistance and so she would sell her £500,000 home in Brighton to raise the funds.
She wrote: "I’ve got quite a lot of collateral in it, certainly enough to fund the next two years’ fees. The school has said that once he’s established there, he stands more of a chance of a bigger bursary as other funded children leave.
"I won’t get another mortgage, because I’ve had no earnings to speak of over the last three years. So I’ll come off the property ladder and rent instead.
Miss Giles, 52, said she once owned 17 cars including Porsches and an Aston Martin but was now "existing" on benefits. She has written several books and is an occasional newspaper columnist.
She said: "Being this poor is horrible, just trying to make ends meet is such a strain, especially when you’re supporting a child. I feel bad that I can’t provide for him without losing our home, but I feel good that I am giving him what he needs."
The 13-year-old suffers from 47,XYY syndrome a condition that means he has an extra Y-chromosome as well as mild Asperger's syndrome.
Last year, the family learned that Ted has an inoperable cavernoma, an abnormality to blood vessels in his brain, which could cause a sudden stroke or death.
His father, who Miss Giles has always refused, to name left when their child was two weeks old and does not paid any child support since Ted was 10, she said.
The blog post received widespread internet attention and soon offers of help began to pour in.
But in a follow-up message, Miss Giles turned down offers of financial help, saying: "While I’m absolutely bowled over by all your kind offers of money, I just can’t accept any of them. It just wouldn’t be right."
She said: "Being this poor is horrible, just trying to make ends meet is such a strain, especially when you’re supporting a child. I feel bad that I can’t provide for him without losing our home, but I feel good that I am giving him what he needs."
The 13-year-old suffers from 47,XYY syndrome a condition that means he has an extra Y-chromosome as well as mild Asperger's syndrome.
Last year, the family learned that Ted has an inoperable cavernoma, an abnormality to blood vessels in his brain, which could cause a sudden stroke or death.
His father, who Miss Giles has always refused, to name left when their child was two weeks old and does not paid any child support since Ted was 10, she said.
The blog post received widespread internet attention and soon offers of help began to pour in.
But in a follow-up message, Miss Giles turned down offers of financial help, saying: "While I’m absolutely bowled over by all your kind offers of money, I just can’t accept any of them. It just wouldn’t be right."
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