A single mum who has been forced to live in temporary accommodation after her Carshalton home was burgled feels justice hasn’t been served.

Chantel Williams says the incident in Wrythe Lane made her depressed and ruined friendships as the case against one of the men allegedly responsible was dropped.

Darmaine Johnson, of Deptford Church Street, was held by police in August 2018 before admitting to a handling stolen goods charge at Croydon Magistrates’ Court.

But the case of him allegedly burgling Ms Williams’ home fell through due to unspecified “legal reasons” before he was jailed for four-and-a-half months.

Ms Williams, who has a five-year-old son, was at her grandmother-in-law’s funeral that day when she was told by police to come back home immediately.

She said: “When I arrived home my door had been kicked off. I've got two doors - the first door has glass at the top and then, I think, polystyrene at the bottom. They kicked that bit off and then they kicked off the second door.

“The room was just in a tip, it was just in a complete mess. There were two of them.

“I went to the court because I was a bit curious as to see who this person was.

“I went just to see to his face and he showed no remorse in the courtroom. He was smirking, smiling at me.”

Ms Williams said the trial was postponed that day because of insufficient jurors, 11 as opposed to 12, before she received an email from police.

According to correspondence seen by Sutton Guardian, they said the case had been dropped “due to legal reasons” and it “would've been difficult to prove”.

She was forced to move out due to her fear of staying in the home, where she was for three years, and developed trust issues.

The 23-year-old added: “I was in a two-bedroom house with a bathroom, living room and garden. Now I’m in a one-bedroom one with my son sharing everything with other people due to this.

“I don't feel like I trust anybody anymore. It's ruined a lot of relationships with my friends because I was accusing them. 'Was it you? We had an argument last week, was it you?'

“I was really depressed at the time, I just wanted to cancel everything, I just wanted to give up. I really just wanted to give up.

“I feel like nothing has been done. I feel like they are just going to go out and do it again, but probably the next time just be a bit more careful and cover their tracks a bit better.”

While Scotland Yard confirmed details surrounding the incident they did not comment on the case.