A DISABLED man says he feels like a prisoner in his own home because he cannot get his mobility scooter in and out of his cramped bedsit.

Bill Butler, who cannot walk any distance because of rheumatoid arthritis, says he wants help from Worcester Community Housing to find him somewhere more suitable to live.

The 52-year-old has lived in a bedsit in Keswick Drive, Warndon, Worcester, for the last two years but says he is struggling to cope in the groundfloor flat.

He has to leave his mobility scooter at a friend’s house because, although he can just manage to get it in the flat, there is not the space to turn it around to get it out again. He also used a manual wheelchair that he cannot get from the living area into the small kitchen because the doors are not wide enough.

Mr Butler says his landlord, Worcester Community Housing, has also warned him about parking his car on a grass lawn next to his window even though he says it is the only way he can recharge the battery for a smaller mobility scooter that he keeps in the boot.

He has to feed an extension lead out of his flat but says he can now no longer do this.

“I might as well be in prison. I would have more freedom in prison. I can’t cope with the pain and I have to have injections at Evesham Community Hospital. Sometimes, I take 40 tablets a day for the pain and I have had a number of falls.”

Mr Butler said two discs had collapsed in his spine due to arthritis and he had also suffered five mini-strokes in the last year. Mr Butler, who worked as a civil engineer until forced to retire at 40 because of ill-health, says he would ideally like to live in a larger flat, preferably in Wells Road, Ronkswood, next to his mother.

Worcester Community Housing confirmed that Mr Butler is registered on the HomeChoice Plus scheme and is actively bidding for alternative accommodation, not just with WCH but with other registered social landlords in the area.

Head of operation Iain Harkess said: “We have assessed Mr Butler’s housing need and agree that he is in need of a move from his current supported housing accommodation to something a little larger. Unfortunately, there are also many other people in similar housing need who are also bidding.”