THE family of a woman who can barely walk unaided claims she has been abandoned by Basildon Council.

Emma Avis, 37, has lived in a first floor flat in Landermere for the past 20 years.

She suffers from heart disease, lung disease, arthritis and systemic sclerosis, meaning she can barely walk unaided and suffers severe fatigue.

Despite this, she still has to climb the stairs to her flat each day, resulting in her family having to take time off work to care for her and help her move around.

Her sister, Marie Avis, said despite being on Basildon Council’s letting scheme to get her into a new home, she has been constantly let down and abandoned.

She said: “My sister’s condition means she sometimes can hardly take a few steps before nearly collapsing.

“She’s been in the same flat for 20 years now, her health really deteriorated over the past six years.

“She is so desperate to be moved into a new home but the council just don’t want to know.

“Every time we make contact, they just want to brush it off, there is never anywhere suitable for her when they put places on offer.” Marie added: “It’s a total disgrace, when Emma goes into the hospital, we never know for sure if she’s going to make it, but the council has done nothing to help whatsoever.”

A Basildon Council spokesman said: “Ms Avis has been assessed by our medical officer and awarded extra priority to find a suitable property to meet her needs.

“We operate a choice-based lettings scheme to give our residents the opportunity to choose which properties they are interested in.

“Ms Avis has an active housing application which means she is able to bid on advertised properties that would meet her needs each week.

“A further option available is mutual exchange where our tenancy and resettlement team can offer help and advice and free membership at homeswapper.co.uk or houseexchange.org.uk.”