ELDERLY residents in a sheltered housing scheme in Prestwich are demanding assurances they will not lose their home.

Residents of Clarkes Hill, off Rectory Lane, fear they will be moved out of their flats if major refurbishments are carried out and worried they will not be able to return when the work is finished.

But housing bosses claim their fears are based on rumours, and any changes to council accommodation would be fully discussed with tenants.

Andrew Crawford, resource manager for sheltered housing and Carelink, said no funding was available at the moment to carry out major refurbishments.

He said he was bidding for £27 million to spend on the council housing stock, but that was to cover 9,000 properties, and no decision would be made until next year.

A pilot scheme in Bury recently saw Wellington House change from bedsits with a shared bathroom to self-contained flats.

The residents at Clarkes Hill are worried that if the same happens to them, the number of flats will be reduced and some of them would be left homeless.

Mr Crawford said: "I will be trying to get some of that money to spend on sheltered housing schemes, but there are two I can think of that would be more of a priority. At Clarkes Hill, maybe we could build an extension or do bits at a time but I cannot rule out moving the residents."

Clarkes Hill resident, Mrs Audrey Giller (68) said: "It is not supposed to be happening yet but they won't give us a date. We will be losing our home as we know it. A lot of people here are in their eighties and nineties and none of us want to be disturbed."

Mrs Lil Halliday (75) added: "We all feel we are being evicted."

Ninety-three-year-old Mrs Peggy Corrie said: "I am quite happy with what I have got. I don't want to be dumped out and brought back in again."

Mr Crawford tried to assure residents: "The worst case scenario is to move everyone out. It is very difficult in situations like this. We do need to improve our schemes but don't want to upset the people there. We can't stand still forever and if there is money available, then it is my job to try and secure it."

"At the moment, though, we are talking about something that is not even drawn up. There are so many 'ifs' and 'buts' here."