In May, a mother and her seven-month-old son were evicted for their home by Haringey Borough Council – because she did not claim benefits.

Anna Ferdinando, of Hill Road, Muswell Hill, was forced to leave her the council house lived in by her late grandmother Helene McPhillips, who died in November 2011.

The authority evicted the 36-year-old and her son Arthur because she could not prove she had lived in the house for 12 months before her grandmother died.

Ms Ferdinando acted as a live-in carer to her grandmother but a policy change in 2011 meant live-in carers had to claim carer’s allowance to be able to remain in the house after the person they cared for died.

She said the council knew she was a live-in carer and that she was effectively being penalised for not claiming benefits.

May was the month when Boris Johnson declared Tottenham will be the next “exciting place to be in London”.

The Mayor of London made his prediction when he opened the refurbished 639 building in High Road after it was badly damaged during the 2011 summer riots.

The building is now an enterprise hub for budding entrepreneurs and anyone with a new business in Tottenham.

Meanwhile, Haringey Borough Council unveiled plans to introduce a borough-wide 20mph speed limit, which critics warned would increase congestion.

The proposal marked a U-turn by the authority which previously rejected the road safety idea because of its cost – at one point estimated at £3.2million – and its effectiveness.