AN innocent, disabled pensioner kicked out of her home because it was being secretly used as a drugs den cannot find a new home -- because of her former property's connection to drugs.

When wheelchair user Betty Lockley was forced to leave her home of 27 years in May, police, her family and solicitor all stressed to a court she had nothing to do with drug-takers.

They pointed out the closure order was put on the Bacup property to drive away junkies who had been using it without her knowledge.

The order was due to last three months but council bosses and police applied for an extension which will see the Pennine Road house closed until the end of November.

But now her former home's connection to drugs is stopping her from finding a new place to live after Burnley housing association Calico turned down her application.

Mrs Lockley has been offered only "emergency" accommodation by another authority.

Disability rights chiefs today blasted the situation as "totally unacceptable" with Mrs Lockley sleeping on a mattress in the front room of her son's home in Burnley.

Calico's Daryl Baker said: "Calico Housing adopts zero tolerance in relation to drug activity and there is no evidence to suggest that if Mrs Lockley was rehoused by Calico that the problem would cease."

When the order was made at Reedley Magistrates' Court this year her family insisted the order would benefit her by moving her away from the drug-takers who had been using her home. But they have now found the closure order is stopping her from finding a new place to live.

Today Mrs Lockley said: "I haven't done anything wrong but I'm the one being punished."

The 68-year-old needs constant care after she lost the use of her legs following a car accident in 1975. Her legs were crushed in the crash and she was left paralysed from the waist down.

Speaking from her son Paul's three-bedroomed semi-detached home in Allerton Drive, Mrs Lockley added: "I am very depressed and don't know where to turn next. I am just here on my son's floor which is very degrading and is in contravention of my human rights.

"I don't deserve to be treated like this. All I want is a place of my own to call home. I sit here and cry every day and don't see the point in living any more."

Her son Paul Boyarin, 46, who lives with his wife Caroline, 42, and their two children Janine, 15, and Alisha, eight, said: "It's causing real problems as we can't get mum upstairs to give her a proper wash.

"We are trying to protect her dignity but we haven't heard anything from social services about getting help with carers.

It feels like nobody cares. Her health has taken a turn for the worse. It's horrible to see her like this."

A spokeswoman for Lancashire County Council said in such circumstances emergency accommodation would be offered to disabled people who are unable to return home.

She added: "It is the individual's choice as to whether they accept the accommodation or decide to make their own arrangements.

"When people move homes we continue to offer the care package that they need. In this situation we recommend that Betty contacts her local social services office to confirm her current situation.

"A social worker will assess Betty's needs and arrange appropriate support if this is agreeable to Betty and her family."

A Rossendale Borough Council spokesman added the authority had also offered temporary accommodation which had been turned down.

However, a spokesman for the Disability Rights Commission said: "On the face of it, it seems a totally unacceptable situation."