A DAUGHTER fears her father will not be able to receive the housing help he needs after years of living with a crippling disease.

James Swinger, 56, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2016.

Since then Mr Swinger and partner Michele, 52, have been asking Maldon District Council to support their bid to adapt his accommodation.

This would include a ground floor extension to the property in Park Drive, Maldon, or finding another suitable property to meet his needs.

Now frustrated daughter Amy Swinger, 26, from Heybridge, says she has hit rock bottom and had enough.

She said: “My parents were waiting for a home adaptation, but it has been back and forth with the council.

“The health complications started in 2014 and he’s just got worse.

“He is now very immobile, incontinent, has diabetes and he’s allergic to steroids which mean his condition went bad quickly.

“Maldon District Council keep offering properties, but they weren’t adapted.

“They said he refused a room because of bedroom tax but that’s not true.”

Documents from Longfield Medical Centre confirm Mr Swinger is wheelchair-bound and has not been able to get to his upstairs bathroom in more than two years because of his condition.

The situation has got so bad the family wrote to Maldon MP John Whittingdale asking for help.

Amy said: “There’s a hospital bed in the lounge and half the house is boxed up because they don’t know if they are coming or going.

“I can’t see my parents like that anymore – it’s not right.”

She said plans for a downstairs wet room and bedroom could go ahead if the council could release the £18,000 Disabled Facilities Grant funding needed for it.

Maldon District Council said it was unable to comment on individual cases.

But a spokesman said: “The Disability Funding Grant is a finite resource and the council has a responsibility to ensure that the money is allocated in accordance with legislation and our own adopted policy.

“The council’s officers involved in this process are very experienced and dedicated to ensuring that all applications are treated fairly and in accordance with the council’s policy.

“Matters such as this often centre around very personal and sensitive subjects and the council always seeks to deal with these matters appropriately and with compassion.

“Unfortunately, though the council cannot always meet the demands or wants of its customers, particularly when these are in direct conflict with policies.”