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Fred Luck, who is disabled, is struggling to cope in his upstairs flat in Dansfield Square, Amble.
A former Royal Marine who has severe mobility problems has accused a housing allocation service of neglecting him.
Fred Luck, who suffers from stenosis, currently lives in a first-floor flat in Dansfield Square, Amble – but is desperate to move into a property which is more suitable to his needs.
The 52-year-old, who has had six operations on his neck and back this year, and is scheduled for more surgery in the autumn, moved into his current home at the start of 2012, but struggles to get up and down the stairs.
He says his current house was just a stopgap for him, with a view to moving into a ground-floor home or bungalow, but he claims Northumberland Homefinder has since ‘neglected’ him by not returning his calls and not finding him another place to live.
“I keep trying to apply and trying to contact them but I haven’t heard anything back from them. I am not having any joy,” he said.
“I was working with Homefinder and the property in Dansfield Square came up. I took it on with a view to getting a ground-floor property or bungalow, but it seems to have died a death and ground to a halt.”
Mr Luck, who suffers from severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, served in the Marines for more than 20 years but left in 1999 because of his worsening physical condition.
He also worked as a university lecturer but his health has impacted employment.
He said: “My back is shot to bits. I need a ground-floor place very badly. At the moment I have to plan everything I do like an operational tour. I can just about get up and down the stairs but sometimes I am stuck in the house and can’t get out and about.
“I would love to have a first-floor flat or bungalow. It would give me a new lease of life.”
Northumberland Homefinder is Northumberland County Council’s housing allocation service, delivered in partnership with Homes for Northumberland, Bernicia, Isos Housing and Berwick Borough Housing.
A county council spokeswoman said: “We don’t comment on the detail of individual cases but we have no record of any calls or contact from a Mr Luck. If he has been allocated a property through Homefinder there would need to be a new application for a further move and so we would encourage him to get in touch with us directly so that a new application can be made.”
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Saturday 18 May 2013
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