A COUPLE are celebrating after ending a mammoth battle for disabled facilities with success.
Wheelchair-bound Debra Foster, 53, returned home from hospital after undergoing life-saving kidney and pancreas transplants in 2011.
But she became a prisoner in her own home, unable to leave due to a steep flight of wooden steps leading up to the front door of the property in Morris Avenue, Jaywick.
For more than a year her partner Tony Smeeton has campaigned to have their home converted for disabled use.
And the couple are now celebrating after seeing the changes made at last.
A stairlift has been put in place outside the home, while its doorways have been widened and the bathroom has been converted into a wet room.
Mr Smeeton said: “We have been fighting for this for so long and it is fantastic for Debra.
“She has been home from hospital for 18 months and that has been a difficult time because she hasn’t been able to get outside.
“It has taken too long, but it is better late than never.”
Mr Smeeton secured more than £20,000 in funding from Tendring Council for the conversion.
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