A FRAIL Holly Hall pensioner is facing a Christmas crisis after being told she must quit her council home.

Mary Martin, aged 69, has been instructed by Dudley Council to leave her house in Cochrane Road after her husband David moved out in July when their marriage broke down.

Mrs Martin’s neighbours and Dudley councillors Qadar Zada and Elaine Taylor have rallied around her to demand council officers allow her to stay, amid fears the stress may further affect her already poor health.

Cllr Zada said: “She can’t stop crying, if they move her it could have a detrimental impact – she could have a breakdown.

“I am absolutely disgusted, Mary is a firm part of Holly Hall, she has lived here all her life and to ask her to leave without any prospects is beyond belief. We will be supporting Mary to fight all the way.”

Mrs Martin, who has lived in the house for 40 years, suffers with arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and mental health problems, she also had breast cancer in 2003.

Her home is equipped with a number of modifications to aid her mobility including a stair lift.

Dudley Council says regulations mean after Mr Martin moved out the tenancy was ended but her daughter believes the consequences of a move could be dire Joanne Taylor, aged 46, said: “They may as well just measure her for a coffin and take it in turns to knock the nails in. She is at rock bottom.

“Me, my sister and the grandchildren take it in turns to stay with her so there is always somebody there. If we can’t be with her we know she is in safe hands with the neighbours.”

Mrs Taylor, from Bradford Road, did not discover her mother was being classed as an illegal tenant until early November, despite a number of previous meetings with housing officers.

She said: “I feel angry, like we have been blindfolded by the council - we just want to be left alone to take care of mum.”

Councillor Gaye Partridge, Dudley cabinet member for housing, said: “Mrs Martin is currently appealing the decision not to allocate the property to her.

"Cases such as this are very difficult as the council has to balance the needs of the individual against the wider needs of applicants on our housing waiting list.

“We will always ensure all the needs and exceptional circumstances of the individual are taken into consideration when reaching a decision."