OUTRAGED elderly residents have been told to leave their private residential home by Christmas because it is being sold to a nearby school.

And the home's owners have been slammed by Blackburn with Darwen Council for failing to make clear their plans.

Up to 33 pensioners from Brooklands, West Park Road, Blackburn, are searching for somewhere else to live after they were given just weeks notice to quit last week.

Their home is likely to be bought by Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, which has submitted a planning application to use it as part of the school.

A council spokesman said: "The home's proprietor, Mrs Choudhry, has not yet formally notified the Social Services Department when she intends to close Brooklands. But having received information from a variety of sources over the past week, the Social Services department is in daily contact with the home trying to clarify the position."

Sue Reid, executive member for Social Services, said: "I am shocked that the owner is dealing with this highly sensitive issue in this manner. Social Services has made its position clear to Mrs Choudry in no uncertain terms. I believe that the elderly residents and their carers have the right to be properly consulted and involved in

decisions that has a major impact on the quality of their lives. We will be doing everything possible to safeguard their welfare."

Residents claim they were assured the home wasn't to be sold by the owner only two days before they were told to leave. Multiple sclerosis sufferer Sheila Garside, 64, said she asked about the home's future several times after owner Abdul Khaliq Choudhry died in May.

She said: "Mrs Choudhry said she regarded the home as part of her family and she told me she was going to run it as her husband did."

Resident Leslie Williams, 90, who is registered blind, added: "It just comes out of the blue, the owners do as they like. I feel like a piece of luggage.

"We are not thought of as old people, just as commodities."

Mr William's son-in-law Mike Neild, who said he was only given four weeks notice to find a new home for him, has written to Jack Straw and QEGS in protest.

He said: "I assume they have kept it secret for as long as they could so it was a going concern and making money. If people had started moving out and staff started looking for other jobs it would have been worse for them."

Jeremy Ranford, QEGS bursar, said the school was approached earlier this year and told the home was on the market.

"The fact that it's a nursing home and the patients have not been given the information earlier is very sad but that's in the hands of the proprietors." Haroon Choudhry, Abdul Choudhry's son, is a partner in the family business and said they told residents as soon as they received a definite offer. He said: "Negotiations do take place and they are often quite tentative.

"We can't go round telling people anything unless it's definite.

"I don't know exactly what my mother told residents before that."

He said his mother could no longer manage the business alone and the family was saddened to have to sell. Mr Choudhry said they had given residents' six weeks notice.

Vicky Shepherd, of Age Concern, Blackburn, said residential homes were not suffering the same business problems as nursing homes and it was not clear why Brooklands had closed.

She said: "Obviously it's good practice to give people as much notice as possible. If there was any way of knowing further in advance the residents should have been told.

"If an individual has unusual needs it may be difficult to find somewhere locally suitable within a few weeks."