STAFF and relatives were in tears as they struggled to find new homes for 13 elderly, frail and confused people.

One woman had only two hours to find her mother somwhere to stay.

The old folk had to be moved when the St Emmanuel Residential Home for the Elderly Confused went out of business.

And the first relatives knew about the dramatic turn of events was when they were told on Monday evening.

Staff working for the two doctors who owned the home in Wilson Street, Blackburn, said they were told to pass on the news that the residents had until 3pm yesterday to leave.

The home had been in financial difficulty for some time and liquidators Stephen Conn and Co were called in over the weekend.

Blackburn with Darwen Council was notified on Friday by liquidators that St Emmanuel's was about to go into liquidation. Effectively, this means that the privately-run home can no longer operate.

Elderly patients in wheelchairs were put into cars along with their possessions, stuffed into bin-liners. Televisions and electrical equipment were loaded into waiting cars and taxis.

Ann Haworth, 49, of Collingwood, Clayton-le-Moors, manager at St Emmanuel for two years, said: "A meeting was held on Monday and all the staff have been made redundant. The staff and relatives are really upset. I think it's disgusting, and I feel sorry for the staff and relatives for being uprooted."

Relatives were staggered when they learned they had less than 24 hours to find somewhere for the elderly residents to live. Susan Evans' mother, 89-year-old Ivy Booth, had been at St Emmanuel for almost ten years.

Mrs Evans, 50, from France Street, Wensley Fold, said: "I was absolutely flabbergasted when I was told. The worst thing about the whole situation was how little time we were given to find somewhere else.

"I was given the names and numbers of four homes and basically told to sort my mother out."

Mrs Evans added: "To say I am furious would be something of an understatement; the whole thing stinks.

"We are determined to take this thing further and are planning to contact our MP Jack Straw.

"The way my mother has been treated has been appalling. She is very confused but she still knows the voices of the staff who look after her."

One woman who didn't want to be named told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph she had just two hours to find her mother somewhere else to stay.

Social workers at Blackburn with Darwen Council knew the home was in trouble last Friday and were called in over the weekend.

One of the first jobs they had to carry out was checking whether residents had enough food to eat over the weekend.

David Kerambrum, assistant director of social services at the town hall, said: "We have been doing all we can and were working to find new accommodation for the people who live at St Emmanuel."

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