A woman who faces losing her flat this Christmas is being used in a homeless charity campaign.

Six months ago Sandra Munoz-Alvares, of Ingrave Street, Battersea, was served notice to leave her flat which she shares with her four-year-old son.

The Local Housing Benefit cap stops at £290 a week, making it impossible for Ms Munoz-Alvares, a student, to find similar accommodation in the borough.

Her story is being used in a Shelter Christmas campaign which launched last week, with her face on posters on the tube, buses and magazines.

Ms Munoz-Alvares said: "I just want a secure home like everybody else for me and my son, and feel really powerless with the situation I am in.

"The best Christmas present for me would be to feel secure in my home once again, whether the housing department will convince my landlord to let me remain, or rehouse me somewhere else in my area."

She said she has been living out of boxes for months, and son Eduardo regularly asks for his toys.

Ms Munoz-Alvares volunteers for the York Gardens Library and does not want to relocate away from her friends and uproot her son from school.

The campaign aims to raise awareness that someone in the UK faces losing their home every two minutes. It features five other individuals who could also be homeless by Christmas.

Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter said: "We know only too well that being made homeless, or living each day under the constant threat of homelessness, is a horrific experience that can tear families apart."

To donate money and watch a video of Ms Munoz-Alvares tell her story visit http://england.shelter.org.uk/donate/real_life_stories