A TERRIFIED pensioner trapped in her vandal-plagued home was left distraught after council chiefs told her it would take six weeks to replace a smashed window - and she would have to pay.

Disabled Christina Dickinson says she feels like a prisoner in her council bungalow in Lansdowne Street, Blackburn, after it was broken into for the third time while she was on holiday in Southport.

Blackburn with Darwen Council workmen boarded up the lounge window, but Mrs Dickinson was told it would be six weeks before it was replaced and that she would have to pay.

But after the Lancashire Evening Telegraph intervened, the council said it will foot the bill immediately as a "one-off".

Mrs Dickinson, 62, said: "I haven't slept a wink since last Thursday when this happened because I daren't shut my eyes.

"I live on my own and I have locked all the windows and nailed them down. The only way to let fresh air into my home is by opening the front door.

"The police have been fantastic with me, but the council has been disgraceful.

"I want people to know how I have been treated, not just for my sake, but for that of all disabled pensioners." Mrs Dickinson, who has suffered three heart attacks and three strokes, walks with the aid of a frame and was advised by police to have the window replaced as soon as possible.

She decided to get a private firm to do the work and asked if the council would pay the bill.

She added: "I was told there wasn't much chance of that. How can they expect a disabled lady living on her own to put up with a boarded up window for six weeks? I just didn't feel safe. "I live on a disabled pension plus income support and I have to pay my rent out of that. How can the council expect me to afford to pay for new windows? It is as if the council doesn't care about the disabled."

After the Lancashire Evening Telegraph contacted the council it agreed to foot the bill.

A council spokesperson said: "Repairs can normally take up to six weeks, but because of her situation the repair had been marked up as a priority for Monday.

"In the meantime she had the window repaired by a private firm.

"Tenants must be aware that we do not pay for any work they have done to their homes privately, but on this occasion, as a one-off, we will reimburse Mrs Dickinson."

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