The family of a woman suffering from Huntington’s Disease say they feel “lied to” after council chiefs backtracked over giving her a place at a specialised nursing facility.

Darren Clark says his mum, Dorothy has been left in limbo after North Ayrshire Council’s Social Services department “promised” her a place at the new state-of-the art facility in Ayr - but then made a u-turn on the decision.

The facility, Wallacetown Gardens has 20 beds, five of which, Darren says are reserved specifically for sufferers of Huntington’s Disease.

Dorothy has suffered for more than 25 years with the debilitating disease - which damages nerve cells in the brain and causes brain damage which affects movement, cognition, perception, awareness, thinking, judgement and behaviour.

Darren, 26, says he and his dad James, 56, have had to watch as Dorothy, who is currently being cared for in Woodland View, slowly deteriorated over the years to the point where, now, she needs roundthe-clock care.

So when the family met with social servies last year to discuss Dorothy’s care they were delighted to be told that she qualified for a place at Wallacetown Gardens.

Darren said: “We didn’t even know about this place until social services told us about it and told us because of the extent of her condition she was a perfect candidate. We just felt such a relief because we knew this was the best thing for mum. She has suffered so much and still is.

“We had a few more meetings with them and everything was all systems go. They even sent out her welcome pack for the facility and some of the care staff, who would be dealing with mum, went out to Woodland View to meet her.

“Then the rug was pulled from under us. The next time we met them we were told that she wouldn’t definitely be getting a place and that we had been “misinformed”.

“I’m sorry but I just don’t buy that. How can that be when we have been told for more than a year she would be getting a bed when the facility was built? As far as I’m concerned we have been lied to.”

Dorothy’s husband Jim added: “If you ask me it’s all about money. They know how much it costs to put people in there and North Ayrshire Council just don’t want to foot the bill.”

But a spokesman for North Ayrshire Council said, whilst they can’t comment on individual cases, no firm decisions had been made on Dorothy’s care either way.

A spokesperson for North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership said: “We do not comment on the specifics of individual cases, however, we remain in regular contact with the family to discuss an appropriate solution.”