WHILE sitting in a cafe today, I got into a conversation with a unemployed guy.

He told me that he has to pay £17.10 per week out of his £73.00 income because he has an extra bedroom in his two-bedroom flat.

He also informed me that he has told the council that he only wants a one-bedroom place, but the council don't have any to give him.

I would like to ask the government, why this man is being charged for a room that he does not want?

Why take £68.40 of his money per month and make his life even harder to cope with? That’s just madness.

I'm not a supporter of the bedroom tax anyway, but was it not for people that don’t want to give up any spare rooms, not for people that are stuck where they live because the council haven't got anything smaller? What about the people that don’t have enough bedrooms, are they paid any more?

If the bedroom tax is to stand, then it should cut both ways. I hope that you read this, Mr Young, and give the people your view.

T Gardens Genoa Court, Andover