A DISABLED Nelson woman suffering from polio could be forced out of her home for a second time, if Pendle Council's compulsory purchase order (CPO) for homes in the Whitefield area is confirmed by the Secretary of State.

During the public inquiry, which has been on-going for two weeks at Nelson Civic Theatre, Jamila Khan told the inspector that the thought of leaving the area was 'breaking our hearts.'

Jamila lives in Every Street with her mother, brother and sister-in-law, who are her carers, and has been there for about 17 years.

She said: "We originally came from Leonard Street in the Railway Street Demolition Area and were forced out of our home as the council said that our home was unfit. The only difference this time is that this home is fit and they are still going to pull it down."

In 1997 she said she received a grant from the urban renewal area to adapt her home for her needs on the basis that there was no renewal or clearance in that area. The money was to remodel her kitchen to make room for her walking sticks and wheelchair.

Jamila claimed that a short time later someone from the council came to inspect her house and told her she had nothing to worry about with regards to clearance so she had the new kitchen built.

She said if the order was not confirmed, her brother and sister-in-law would like to buy the house next door and knock through so that there would be more room.

She said: "Should we have to leave we would have to start again, still in one house that would have to be renovated to suit our needs -- money that would be better spent on the house next door. It is breaking our hearts."

The council's proposals for compulsory purchase and demolition were also met with opposition from Mohammed Iqbal, chairman of the Whitefield Conservation Action Group, which was formed as a result of the residents' concerns about the lack of public consultation.

In his proof of evidence to the inquiry, he said: "The clearance area has a very high Asian population. A large number of these residents are unable to speak English. Pendle Borough Council has never provided a bilingual interpreter at any of the so-called public meetings."

He also said he believe Asian women had been ignored throughout the whole process and that the council had not listened to the views of the residents living in the Nelson West Renewal Area.

Mr Iqbal, a former Pendle councillor, said: "The council has ridden roughshod over the interests of the residents and intimidated them at every opportunity."

Paul Yeomans, the council's principal environmental health officer responsible for urban renewal, told the inspector how he had himself experienced the effect of a CPO at the age of seven, when his family house in Burnley Road, Colne, was in a clearance area.

He said: "I believe I understand and am in sympathy with all aspects of the community and I honestly believe that the proposals which form the basis of my report are, in my heart, the best solution for this community."

"With the amount of consultation which we have tried to undertake, if we have failed to engage parts of the community it is not because we have tried to ignore them."