Rustington woman left ‘trapped’ in her own flat

Brigitte Jones, of Guildford Road, suffers from severe rheumatoid arthritis, which affects the strength and grip in her hands to such a degree that she often finds simple tasks like opening her front door or kitchen cupboard difficult.

Grandmother-of-three, Brigitte, says that, at times, her hands become so inflamed, she can barely move them.

The 54-year-old has asked Arun District Council to either replace the front door or move her into more suitable accommodation.

She said: “I’m honestly at my wits’ end. I feel trapped inside my home. Sometimes it’s not only my hands that are inflamed. I often get flares in my legs that make them painful and swollen.

“My condition is such that at 2am I need to be able to step outside to cool down because the pain becomes so terrible. But I can’t do that right now. I just want to get out of here and get on with my life.”

Brigitte said her condition developed three years ago after she became ill, following a trip to Cyprus. Since then it has worsened to such an extent that she needs regular treatment at the rheumatology unit at Bognor Regis War Memorial Hospital.

For the past three months, she has also had problems with the underfloor heating in her home, resulting in her spending hundreds of pounds on electric heaters.

A spokeswoman from the council said that the authority was doing everything in its power to help Brigitte and that a possible council property exchange had already fallen through.

The spokeswoman said: “It was regrettable that the mutual exchange, of which Mrs Jones was a part, fell through when one of the tenants involved pulled out. This was disappointing for all involved but was beyond the council’s control.

“We have undertaken interim repairs to the main entrance door to the block and are awaiting information from a specialist contractor as to whether electronic controls can be fitted to make the door easier to open.

“We have also made a number of attempts to replace the heating at Mrs Jones’ property but on each occasion she said she was not well enough to let our engineers complete the work.

“We are sorry that Mrs Jones remains unhappy with her housing situation but will continue to work with her to try to resolve her issues as best we can.”