Decision delayed in care home row

Derek Watts, pictured with his mother, said it was a "very important" issue

A decision over whether a woman aged 106 should be evicted from a care home in Wolverhampton has been adjourned.

Louisa Watts' son, Derek, has pledged to "fight to the bitter end" to stop Underhill House closing, saying experts have said her health would suffer.

The city council is asking the Court of Appeal to overturn an injunction stopping the home's closure, but the case is now due to be heard next week.

A council spokeswoman said it was confident over the case for closure.

'Very important'

Mrs Watts and another resident, Minnie Beswick, said they were happy at the home and would be upset if it closed.

Derek Watts has said the proposed closure of the home was a "very important" issue in Wolverhampton.

"They are old people and we have got to look after them," he said.

"They have been the backbone of this country for a good many years and I think we should look after them now in their old age."

Mr Watts said a professor who had assessed his mother advised authorities that she should stay at the home for the rest of her life.

Minimum standards

Two judges said residents' permission to appeal must be heard alongside the city council's application to lift a court order blocking its plans to shut the care home.

Underhill House was to be closed as part of a cuts package after a High Court judge rejected an application to quash the decision.

Campaigners then won an injunction to stop the removal of the nine remaining residents.

It would cost at least £2m to make the necessary alterations to provide the quality of accommodation older people need Wolverhampton City Council

Their lawyer argued the health of Mrs Watts and the other residents would be put at risk if they were moved into new accommodation against their will.

The council has said the 40-year-old home no longer meets the national minimum standards.

"It would cost at least £2m to make the necessary alterations to provide the quality of accommodation older people need," a spokeswoman said.

Mrs Watts, a widow who was a hospital cleaner, moved into the home four years ago after her daughter Jean Bolas died aged 78.