A DISABLED man from Christchurch has been left stranded in his own home after a housing association banned him from charging up his electric scooter.

Stanley Messer, 79, of Court Close, suffers from heart disease and kidney failure and can only walk short distances unaided.

He bought an electric buggy several months ago to allow him to get to the shops and visit friends in the local area. But his landlords Twynham Housing Association have refused to allow the pensioner to charge up the vehicle's battery.

Mr Messer said: "The problem is that I live in a first-floor flat and there's nowhere for me to plug in the scooter on the ground floor. I've tried running a cable down from the first floor but the housing association told me it was a safety hazard.

"I can't get out at all now. My son has to do all my shopping.

"It's really making me depressed. The scooter expanded my world enormously - it allowed me to get out and about."

Twynham have offered Mr Messer a transfer to nearby alternative accommodation to allow him to charge up his scooter but the pensioner is reluctant to move away. He would much prefer a ground-floor flat in the block that has been his home for the past two years.

Spokesman for the housing association, Mike Maber, said: "Unfortunately we have a limited amount of properties and demands far exceeds supply, which means that at times we are unable to offer applicants properties as quickly as we would like.

"We have however found a bungalow in Strete Mount which we have offered to Mr Messer."

But the pensioner said: "I really don't want the stress of having to move from here.

"I just want to be able to get out again."