Betty Lawson was the head of a family found squatting in a vacant 3 Coronation Street by Ena Sharples and Jerry Booth in June 1967. The Lawsons - Betty, her husband and their sons Ronnie and Clifford - had been evicted from their home for not paying their rent in mid-1966. Unable to provide for his family, Betty's husband cleared off, leaving the boys with her. Betty and her sons ended up living in a basement off Rochdale Road for 25 bob a week, with Betty taking whatever casual work she could get and keeping the boys off school to avoid the risk of the council putting them in care.