AN 87-year-old woman has refused food for ten weeks because she is so upset with the closure of her West Sussex care home.

Jessie Langley, now on a saline drip at St Richard's Hospital in Chichester, earlier barricaded herself in herroom at Nyewood House, Bognor, after hearing of the closure plans.

Her son-in-law, Les Cresswell, blames West Sussex County Council for her condition and says that if she dies councillors and county council officers will be to blame.

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Mr Cresswell, 69, of Elm Road, Westergate, near Chichester, said: "If anything happens to my mother-in-law, then we will be taking legal advice.

"The county council are putting money before lives. Their heads are buried in the sand.

"It's very traumatic for elderly people to be moved. The county council made the decision to close the home before they asked anyone."

He said that before Jessie was taken to hospital, she had barricaded herself in her room several times and staff had found her walking the corridors in the early hours crying.

Protesters have formed the Nyewood Action Group and are planning to take their campaign to Downing Street tomorrow.

West Sussex County Council claims Nyewood, home to 41 elderly people, has to be axed to cut costs.

Three other homes at Worthing, Middleton and Lancing are also to close and the future of 17 others is under review.

But the action group, set up to keep Nyewood House open for the existing residents to end their days in, wants Tony Blair and Frank Dobson to intervene.

They will be demonstrating outside Number 10 and hope to be able to speak to Tony Blair and Health Secretary Frank Dobson.

They have written to the Prime Minister and will be handing in a statement of protest.

Jack Smith, chairman of the Nyewood Action Group, says Jessie was so unhappy about having to be moved she just stopped eating.

Mr Smith, 68, who lives at the home, said: "The mood at the home is one of absolute disgust and anger. We are all upset."

Margaret Bamford, head of the county council's adult provider service, said: "We are very concerned about Mrs Langley and we will continue to work with Mr Cresswell and his family.

"A doctor has said mortality rates increase with stress, and moving can increase the rate at which residents die, but there has been an equal amount of research that shows that, handled carefully and sensitively, there is no increase in mortality."

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