A double amputee claims he's spent 10 years fighting to get adequate disabled access to his own home.
Mick Gauntlett, from West Sussex, said he has been forced to resort to using a makeshift metal ramp to get in and out of the bungalow due to a lack of proper access.
The 64-year-old would like to continue using the metal ramp as it provides easy access to his home in Fishersgate, but he claims the council want him to remove it because its steep approach is too much of a safety risk.
Instead, Mick says they want to install a small turning area outside his home, which he doesn't believe is viable.
"Five years ago the council said they’d put a turning circle in for my mobility scooter, but that’s no use if I’m spending minutes trying to turn in the rain or cold," he told SussexLive.
"They should just install a proper ramp down from the front door, but if I took that option Adur Homes say I then must have handrails along the side of it. Why would I need that if I'm in a mobility scooter?"
Mick says this is just one example of him being constantly ignored and pushed away by the council.
The former lorry driver had his left leg amputated 12 years ago and his right leg amputated two years ago - both due to diabetes.
Mick claims that from his left leg amputation onwards, he has been "completely humiliated" by Adur council.
He said: "After I got my first leg amputated I requested a home in Southwick, Lancing or Portslade, but was given a disgusting studio flat in Bognor which had a bunkbed.
"They then put me in a nearby Travelodge which had perfect disabled access, but they said this could only be temporary.
"I was then sent back to the hospital because I refused to live in the Bognor flat.
"Then the council told me they sorted a flat in Hove, but when I arrived the staff said there wasn’t a booking for me.
"So I had to go back to the hospital.
"When I later phoned the council someone said they forgot to make the booking. How on earth could you do that?
"After the booking was finally made I returned to the hotel but I couldn’t get into the room because the wheelchair was too wide.
"This all went on for months until I finally ended up in Fishersgate."
Mick, along with his neighbour Gordon Preston, have also raised the issue of fire safety in his home. With only one door into the property, there would be no way out if a fire broke out in the living room or near the front door.
"If there’s a fire, I am ******," he added,
"I've asked for a back door on numerous occasions.
"One council employee told me that I’m to wait for the fire brigade to rescue me if there’s a fire. How ridiculous."
Mick says his problems with Adur Council have had a detrimental impact on his mental health.
He added: "I’ve thought about taking my own life two or three times because of what they’ve put me through. It’s just humiliating.
"Everything I ask for I can’t get. Someone will come round and take a look at an issue or repair, but then that never seems to get logged with the council.
"A contractor came round and condemned my boiler so I didn’t have any hot water, and then the council wanted to fine me a few weeks later for using a condemned boiler.
"In the end I was left without hot water for three months. It does my head in."
Mick's friend Gordon Preston, 73, who also lives in Summer Close, says he is "lost for words" at Mick's situation.
Gordon said: "It’s terrible, I’ve seen dogs treated better.
"Sometimes I call him up because I think he’s going to take his own life. I fear it will never change for him, they just do not seem to care."
A spokesman for Adur District Council said: "At all times we have followed the specifications given to us by the tenant’s Occupational Therapist (OT) including when allocating his current property in 2016. The ramp at the side of the house was also built in line with OT specifications.
"On the tenant’s request for a ramp in front of the house we have visited and advised him several times to work with his OT but this has not happened. A ramp to the front of his house has been ruled out for two reasons. Firstly it would run directly into a busy road which puts him at risk if for any reason he loses control of his buggy. Secondly the gradient of a ramp from his front door to the road will be too steep which is an additional risk given his disabilities.
"We continue to adapt the property as his needs evolve and the OT recommends changes. We are in the process of changing his existing power assisted door to a wider one based on the OTs recommendation.
"The property was assessed in November last year and is fire safety compliant."
