A DISABLED pensioner today spoke of her despair at being trapped in her home for three months because of a repairs backlog.

Pauline French has lived in her home with husband Arthur for 17 years but has been left unable to walk unaided after developing a disease affecting her nerves.

And without ramps in and out of the property the 57-year-old can only watch the world go by from her living room in Pilmuir Road, Blackburn -- prevented from going out by the ten steps between her front door and the street.

Housing company Twin Valley homes, which owns the property, today said she was the victim of a backlog.

And it added that there are not enough funds in its annual £250,000 budget for disabled adaptations to provide her house with two ramps, a shower and a stair lift immediately.

The company, which said it had no statutory responsibility to carry out disabled adaptations, has offered the couple another more suitable home but the couple feel they would be unable to cope with the stress of moving.

Blackburn MP Jack Straw has taken the matter up with social services and Twin Valley homes to find out what can be done.

And RADAR -- the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation -- has branded the situation "appalling."

Arthur, 60, works as a full-time carer for his wife and needs help from two other people to move her out of the house because she is so weak.

The couple have had to cancel their annual holiday to Blackpool and Pauline can no longer play bingo at the local club.

She makes it out of the house once a week when ambulance staff carry her down the steps and take her for physiotherapy.

Pauline was taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary in September after suffering a stroke. She then developed Guillain and Barry Syndrome -- a degenerative nerve disease -- and was taken to Queen's Park Hospital where she was also diagnosed diabetic in October. She also suffers from severe asthma.

Arthur said: "We have moved the bed downstairs but even after being married for 37 years it is embarrassing to have to wash my wife in the living room.

"We have lived here for so long, made it our home and as a full-time carer at my age I have not got the strength to deal with the upheaval of moving."

Kevin Ruth, finance director for Twin Valley homes, said: "We try to assist tenants who have been recommended for adaptations to their homes, but we are inundated with similar requests.

"As a result there is a backlog and it may be some time before we can help.

"Last year we doubled the funds available for adaptations, however, the demand continues to be greater than the funds available to meet everyone's needs."

A spokesman for Blackburn with Darwen Council Social Services said: "This is a difficult case.

"We received a letter from Jack Straw and have passed on the information to the necessary departments."

But Liz Silver, housing and independent living officer with RADAR, said: "This is an appalling situation and the authorities can not reasonably expect anyone to live in this way -- trapped.

"Morally and legislatively there is no justification for anyone to have to wait for these improvements especially if the authorities knew she was to be discharged from hospital."

In June, Twin Valley had 14 priority one (most urgent), 61 priority two, one priority three and 86 priority four cases outstanding.

Mrs French is one of 19 cases to be prioritised next week.

As a one-off cash injection, Twin Valley homes invested £500,000 into the budget for disabled adaptations between 2001 and 2002.

This financial year, from April 2002 to March 2003, spending has returned to the same level as when the accounts were taken over from Blackburn with Darwen Council -- £250,000.

Twinges Sorter, head of housing at the company, said: "We will endeavour to double the budget again if and when business performance allows us to do so."