A JUDGE has ordered council officials to attend court to explain why they have not found a home for a disabled offender.

Wheelchair user Anthony Tasker, 34, is still in the hospital wing of Preston Prison despite exhaustive attempts by the probation service to find him accommodation.

The defendant, who admitted making threats to kill last February, cannot be released as he has nowhere to go.

Judge Beverley Lunt ordered Blackburn with Darwen Council's housing needs manager Steve Richards and a senior social worker to attend court two weeks ago after a temporary home allocated was no longer on offer and nothing suitable was available.

The court had earlier heard neither the council's housing nor social services department seemed to be accepting responsibility for him.

The officials said they planned to house the defendant subject to one check being carried out. They were ordered to return to court last week. But when the case came up the court was told accommodation had still not been found and still no officials turned up.

Judge Beverley Lunt said she was rendered "practically speechless" by the situation and Tasker's barrister slammed the local authority as "pathetic".

Judge Lunt said Tasker had almost served longer on remand in custody than any sentence that would be imposed on him. She asked: "What if I gave him a suspended sentence now and he's free. What would happen to him?"

The judge ordered the officials involved to be in court tomorrow and went on "Can the local authority wash their hands of him? He has problems, limited resources and is emergency homeless. Don't they have a statutory obligation?"

Judge Lunt said it was getting to the stage where Tasker would be better off if he was an asylum seeker as there were houses for people who came seeking the haven of this country.

Wayne Goldstein, defending Tasker, said: "The response by the local authority is pathetic."

David Traynor, representing the council, said he had not received any information from the local authority.

She promised Tasker: "We will continue this battle. We will get to the bottom of this."

Andy Docherty, assistant director for legal and democratic services at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: "The council provided information to the judge as requested.

"Staff were available to attend court but were not called. We will continue to assist the court and probation service as required."