A TERMINALLY-ill man has been granted his wish as a council agreed to pay for an extension to his home which will allow him to die with dignity.

Barry Pinder, 55, of Queen Street, Clitheroe, said he was "elated" at hearing Ribble Valley Borough Council's housing committee had approved funding of £22,000 for the bedroom and bathroom extension,

It will allow him to remain in the house where he has lived for 34 years.

He said: "I can't tell you how I feel to hear the news. I'm over the moon."

Barry was first diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease when he was 28 and his health has since deteriorated.

His lungs fail to circulate enough oxygen, causing the symptoms of bronchitis, emphysema and asthma, which will gradually destroy his health until his body gives up.

For the past four years he has been a "prisoner " in his living room since the heart and lung condition worsened and he was put on an oxygen machine all day.

He said a ground floor extension was the only way to give him the privacy he craved.

He had been stripped of his dignity by having to go to the toilet, wash and get dressed in his living room.

His plight was first reported in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph in December after his request for funding was rejected by Ribble Valley Borough Council for being too costly.

Housing officers tried to persuade him to move into alternative accommodation.

Barry was visited in January by eight people from Ribble Valley Council and Social Services who said they would try to obtain funding for the scheme.

Since then, the council has looked at ways of finding the funding needed to help Barry.

He added: "I know I have lost a lot of dignity with my illness, but I want to keep what little I have left.

"I don't have to face the upheaval of moving and I can die here."

Coun Charles Warkman, chairman of the council's housing committee, said: "We have looked very carefully at this particular adaptation and have responded to the needs of the tenant and his family.

"The council officers have worked closely with the family and their occupational therapist to ensure that the extension will improve their quality of life. I now want the necessary work to proceed as quickly as possible."

Barry's partner, Marjorie, who shares his home with her 15-year-old grandson Gary, said of the council U-turn: "It is brilliant news.

"Barry has been in hospital again, but has been home for about a month and is doing well.

"This extension will be a big change for him and it's absolutely fantastic that he is to get his wish."

The council's original decision brought criticism from one national disabled charity.

Liz Silver, community housing officer for the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation, which campaigns for disabled people, said the £20,000 budget was "ridiculous".