Wheelchair-bound amputee ‘stuck inside her house after council workers erected scaffolding outside her front door’

A WHEEL-CHAIR amputee says she is trapped in her own home after council workers erected scaffolding right outside her front door.

Zoe Pryde, 33, moved into a bungalow after she was forced to have her leg removed as a result of cancer in her knee when she was a teenager.

The mum-of-four had metal fittings in her leg until last year but when she started to experience excruciating pain, medics decided to amputate.

Zoe has been left in a wheelchair ever since and relies on disabled access ramps outside her home to get in and out of the property in Alvaston, Derby.

But this week she was left fuming after workmen erected scaffolding outside the bungalow which blocked access to one of the ramps.

Zoe has now blasted Derby City Council and accused them of letting down her children Esmay, four, Kacey, five, Cohen, eight and ten-year-old Dylan.

She said there were also loose door handles that needed replacing and the doorway to her sons' bedroom was too narrow for her to fit through in her wheelchair.

Zoe also revealed how on one occasion Cohen even became stuck in the kitchen after a dodgy door handle fell off.

She said: "I feel like I've let my children down. Well, I haven't let them down, the council has.

"In the last house they had a nice, flat garden to play in.

"It was difficult for me with the stairs but I would rather have stayed there and gone up and down the stairs on my bottom then move here.

"I feel like a prisoner in my own home."

Ahead of her operation, Zoe had applied to Derby Homes, the social housing arm of Derby City Council, to move out of her home in Chaddesden and into a bungalow.

Over 18 months later and more than a year after her operation, Zoe and her children were finally moved to the bungalow around 4.5 miles away in July.

But since the scaffolding was erected outside the three-bedroom property, she has been unable to take the bins out or get to the electric meter.

The family have also been unable to use the rear garden of the faulty lock on the back door and Zoe is still waiting for a replacement door.

Zoe first visited the property in June before moving in the following month.

During the visit, she said she compiled a list of all of the problems and was told the work would be finished in time for her moving in date by council officers.

She added: "We moved in and it was like they hadn't touched anything.

"And suddenly there was scaffolding blocking the ramp that leads down to the side of the house, which I need to use to top up the electricity meter.

"It means that if I need to get down there I need to go out on to the road then come back down the other driveway to get to it and to the bins.

"I feel like I've been lied to and I just want it all to be sorted out."

The blocked ramp is one of two, with the other leading from the pavement to the front door.

Even of the lock on the back door worked, Zoe said she would not be able to let the children out as it was 'overgrown and unsafe'.

Housing service Derby Homes, who manage the property, said the structure was put up to help with roof repairs.

A spokesperson for Derby Homes said: "Ms Pryde moved into her home in July 2016.

"When she moved in it was mutually agreed that a number of repairs would be carried out around her.

"We have been in regular contact and are concerned to hear that she is not happy with the service she has received.

"The scaffolding which is erected to complete roof repairs is not restricting access.

"The work will be completed over the next few working days and the scaffolding will then be removed.

"Word is scheduled for the front and back doors to be replaced and Ms Pryde is aware that this will be completed by the end of October.

"The locks to both doors are fully operational and provide security.

"We will continue to work with Ms Pryde and try to ensure that she is happy with the way in which these repairs are completed."