AN Evesham pensioner is concerned about the lack of on-site care in her sheltered housing complex after collapsing and almost dying in her home.

Alice Livings, aged 85, from Seward Close, developed fluid on her lungs in the early hours of Sunday, March 27. The complex's two wardens, who only work office hours during the week, were not on site. Mrs Livings attempts to get help by pulling on an emergency cord in her flat failed because of a freak fault.

Mrs Livings said: "The communication system broke down - if a friend and neighbour had not come to my aid I would be dead. I was in hospital for a week and now I feel very anxious if I am at home and know the wardens aren't around. I don't think the care is ideal and it's not very satisfactory at all - I'd like to see a better system in place.

"We are all over 60 in this building and a number of residents are in their eighties and nineties. It's all very well asking you to pull on a cord for help if no-one is around, but what if you have suffered a heart attack or a fit."

Susan Littlemore, spokeswoman for English Churches Housing, the group that runs Seward Close, said most sheltered housing schemes now operate similar care systems. She stressed that even when 24-hour on-site care procedures were in place wardens would not have been trained to give emergency medical treatment.

Ms Littlemore added: "The night Mrs Livings pulled the cord was the night it transferred to British summertime, and we think there was a fault somewhere that stopped the call getting through.

"Nothing like this has happened before - it looks like it was the most unfortunate timing that stopped the call getting through."