A YOUNG disabled woman has been told she owes £800 in rent on a Worcester council flat she cannot move into.

Carys Owen, who has been in hospital since November and is confined to a wheelchair, understood she would not have to pay rent until the flat in Warndon's Langdale Drive had been adapted to suit her.

She was taken to see it in February, from the Gobowen Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry.

"I understood then that the alterations recommended by the social worker and occupational therapist would go ahead and it would be ready for me on discharge," said 23-year-old Carys.

But nothing had been done when she was ready to leave hospital in May and return to work in Customer Services at Reality, in Worcester.

She has now been transferred to Freda Eddy Court, Kidderminster, because there is no place for her in the city.

"To pay arrears from January on a flat I can't even move into is a bit ridiculous," she said.

Carys, who comes from North Wales, settled in the city after gaining an honours degree in Business and Finance at University College Worcester in June 2000.

She was found to have systemic lupus, a disease affecting the immune system, soon after graduating and was admitted to hospital in November 2001, when a clot on her spine resulted in paralysis from the waist downwards.

Her parents, Raymond and Susan, knew she would not be able to return to her third floor flat in The Tything and approached the city council, which offered her the ground floor flat in January.

Carys was still determined to live in Worcester and was "jolly and happy-go-lucky", said Mrs Owen.

Worcester MP Mike Foster has asked the city council to review Carys' case.

"These arrears have accrued through no fault of hers and it's frustrating for her family because when they were offered this flat they were advised that, if they didn't accept it, the council was not obliged to offer her another one," he said.

City housing manager Iain Harkess said the onus was on the tenant either to pay outstanding rent or make a claim for housing benefit, with a right to appeal if this were refused.

The housing authority was working with the health authority's occupational therapy service to make sure the accommodation was suitable.

"When Miss Owen was ready to be discharged from hospital and her circumstances were known, the occupational therapy team visited again to work out exactly what was needed," he said.

"It involves wheelchair access and alterations to the kitchen and bathroom, so it's not going to be done in a couple of days."