The girl was seen on the Channel 4 series on Monday, where she was on screen alongside her husband, who gave his name only as Alex and described the marriage - illegal in both the UK and Romania - as 'alright, no problem'.
It has now been revealed that months after documentary makers finished filming the series on James Turner Street in Birmingham, where 90 per cent of residents receive state handouts, the couple had their fist child.
New arrival: The 15-year-old child bride
featured in Channel 4 series Benefits Street has had a baby with her
21-year-old 'husband', who gave his name on the show as Alex
Boast: 20-year-old Romanian Alex, right, boasted that having a 15-year-old 'wife', left, was 'no problem'
The baby girl was reportedly born in a
hospital in the city, although the couple were thought to have
temporarily left the UK for Romania to sign official papers relating to
the three-month-old.
The child's birth means the couple are now entitled to receive £88 every month in child benefit, as well as additional tax credits - although it is not known if they intend to claim them.
Despite giving his name as
Alex, the new father's family said his name was in fact Stefan Stana,
while his partner, who was unnamed in the show, is Madalina Balasa, who
is now 16.The child's birth means the couple are now entitled to receive £88 every month in child benefit, as well as additional tax credits - although it is not known if they intend to claim them.
Mother: The girl, named by family members as Madalina Balasa, had the child in October after she turned 16
Unpleasant: Rubbish is piled on up James Turner Street, Birmingham
They featured on the series as part of a Romanian family, who did not claim benefits but worked as professional bin raiders, trying to scavenge for scrap metal to sell.
Stefan's brother Florin confirmed the birth of the child, and said the couple, understood to still be living in Birmingham, had gone to Romania to get papers for the child.
'They have had a baby together,' Florin told The Sun.
Ceremony: A wedding video shows the couple being 'married' - despite it being illegal in both the UK and Romania
'It was born in October - she is called Miruna. Madalina was 16 when the baby was born.'
Madalina was just 15 and a half when she and Stefan, then 20, were interviewed for the programme.
He was seen boasting to the camera about his child bride - aged just 15-and-a-half - and defending their union as 'tradition' on the Channel 4 documentary series.
The couple were shown talking about their 'marriage' in Monday's episode.
Despite the girl being too young to legally marry either in Romania or in the UK, her 'husband' said: 'This scares people in England because she is a minor.
'In my country it’s alright – no problem.'
His wife was also asked if she loved him, replying 'Yes, I love him'.
The couple were also seen showing off their wedding photograph, in which Stefan, dressed in a shiny black tuxedo and tie, holding his young bride's hand as she stands next to him in a white wedding dress and veil.
Florin said that the couple had got married in Romania.
Lib Dem MP John Hemming described child marriage as 'unacceptable' in the wake of the controversial programme.
The episode showed Stefan and his family as the subject of a torrid of abuse from their neighbours, especially after the council stopped collecting rubbish after bin bags were torn open.
One resident, known by her friends as 'White Dee', said: 'People move into a house and two days later they're rooting through your bin bags, that's not a nice thing and we don't want it on our road.'
Another described the Romanians as 'little tramps'.
Residents claimed that the situation with the rubbish was so bad, after no collections were made for two weeks, that rats were crawling through the streets.
Controversial: The series has been attacked for its portrayal of claimants
The family of 14 had crammed into a small property, built for just four people, which they rented privately for £400 a month.
In the programme they were shown rooting through bins looking for things to sell, heaping up disused appliances, pots and pans and old buggies. One family member admitted on the programme that neither her nor any other family members are legally entitled to work in the UK.
Instead they make ends meet by collecting scrap - old cookers, microwaves, pots, pans and baby buggies - and selling it on to dealers. They claim to make only around £75 a week from this - barely enough to cover the rent on their home.
Only George, a 12-year-old boy who goes to school, could speak English and communicate with their landlord or the neighbours.
Notorious: James Turner Street is in the Winson Green area of Birmingham
They
found the UK less attractive than they had hoped. At one point the
father of the family said: 'In Romania life was much better. We had
water, gas and electricity. We had our own house.', while another adds
'This is worse than Romania.'
The family was eventually evicted after they couldn't keep up their rent payments, but were soon replaced by another group of Romanians - fourteen men who had come to England on the promise of farm labour, paid at £40 per day.
The programme, which sparked outrage on social networks including Twitter focuses on the day-to-day lives of locals living in James Turner Street, Winson Green, Birmingham.
The family was eventually evicted after they couldn't keep up their rent payments, but were soon replaced by another group of Romanians - fourteen men who had come to England on the promise of farm labour, paid at £40 per day.
The programme, which sparked outrage on social networks including Twitter focuses on the day-to-day lives of locals living in James Turner Street, Winson Green, Birmingham.
Ninety per cent of residents living in the 137-house street claim one or more benefits ranging from £500 to £900 a month in free hand-outs.
No comments:
Post a Comment