A WIRRAL man claims he has been unable to leave his house for three years as he complains his social housing provider refuses to install the last thing that would help him get out.

Steve Niblock, from Bromborough, has been living with Magenta Living for 12 years now on Cecil Road in Bromborough and up until recently, he had rarely had issues with the social housing provider who have made a number of adjustments to his home to help with his disability. However he claimed they were refusing to install the final piece of the jigsaw, a ramp from the pavement so he can get an electric scooter into his back garden.

An electric charging point has even been installed for this scooter and Wirral Council have marked out lines for a dropped kerb to the road. Mr Niblock has raised this issue with his local MP Justin Madders who contacted Magenta on his behalf but he also plans to take his complaint to the Housing Ombudsman to investigate.

After being approached by the LDRS, a Magenta spokesperson said it would be exploring alternative solutions with Mr Niblock, adding: “Keeping our customers safe and supporting them to live independently in their own homes, is very important to us.”

Mr Niblock said: “I haven’t been out of the house for three years apart from going to the hospital so I am basically stuck in here. I see my GP and go to Arrowe Park and that is it,” adding: “They said it’s not policy to put ramps in for disabled people. Where does the Equality Act say you can’t make reasonable adjustments, just to put a few flagstones down?”

He added: “They were happy for me to pay for it but it’s their property. I have asked them to put me through to an equality officer. As far as I am concerned the equality act says they need to make reasonable adjustments or in my case adaptations.

“They are basically saying you do it, it’s your responsibility and we will be happy with that but it’s not my property. If I do not fight it, someone else might go ‘oh alright.’ A few flagstones is not unreasonable from my point of view.”

Asked how this has had an impact on him, Mr Niblock said: “It’s crap apart from the fact I have got hundreds of DVDs. All I do is watch telly. I have no social life apart from talking to people on the phone. That is it. It’s a bloody nightmare I tell you. It’s an absolutely bloody nightmare.

“I am stuck in four walls and I do not socialise unless it’s talking to people on the phone and to be honest they are really bored.”

Mr Niblock used to represent Bromborough ward as a Liberal Democrat and then Labour councillor between 2002 and 2016. His disability stems from a back injury in the 1980s “that got worse over time.” Mr Niblock said he never used to be in the house, adding: “I was working two jobs. I only see my friend who does my shopping on Saturdays so I am stuck.”

A Magenta Living spokesperson said: “Keeping our customers safe and supporting them to live independently in their own homes, is very important to us. We have been working along-side Mr Niblock to improve accessibility to his home and have installed several adaptations. Mr Niblock’s request to install a ramp was declined due to safety reasons. However, we have revisited the request, and we are exploring alternative options with him.”