EALING Council has been ordered to pay a disabled woman £2,000 and make her top priority to move into a new flat.

A comes after the Local Government Ombudsman ruled the borough authority failed to help the woman (referred to only as Mrs Clarke) when a deteriorating medical condition left her trapped in her own home.

Mrs Clarke, who suffers from a disease which causes inflamation of the body's organs, was confined to a wheelchair after her brain was damaged in November 2008.

Ealing Council did provide a package of homecare support and awarded the council tennant the second highest priority for transfer to another property. But did not adapt the block's security door to enable her to reach the controls which were too high for her.

Complaining to the Local Government Ombudsman, the mother-of-three, said: "I'm like a prisoner in my own home. The only time I leave the house is when I have a hospital appointment."

The council even told a councillor work on the door had been done when it had not, despite numerous requests, and a warning from the fire brigade that the woman would be in danger if a blaze broke out. Even though her flat was not suitable for a wheelchair user, with windows and fixtures and fittings too high for her to reach,

the council did not refer her case to the Social Wewlfare Panel, which has the power to award top priority for housing, until September last year.

On Friday, Ombudsman Jane Martin, said: "The failures...amount to maladministration. This has caused Ms Clarke considerable injustice. She has lived in very unsatisfactory housing conditions for longer than should have been the case."

A council spokesman said Ms Clarke has now been rehoused and offered a full apology.

He said: "Clearly mistakes were made by Ealing Homes, the council's former housing management organisation, for which we are very sorry. Now we have taken housing management back under the council’s direct control, services are working much closer together to resolve issues like this faster, and to offer the high level services our residents expect.

"However, we will take a detailed look at this particular case to see what lessons can be learned."