A PENSIONER who agreed to move out of his home for six weeks while renovations were done has now spent TWO YEARS in care homes.

Terry Cleare, 73, says he has been “in limbo” since leaving the Tiptree home he owns, so it could be adapted to better suit his disabilities.

Two years on, a series of hold-ups means the work has still not been carried out.

Meanwhile, Mr Cleare, who is physically disabled, remains stranded in a care home, surrounded by residents with dementia.

The former City insurance clerk was initially moved to Tang Hall, Clacton, but managers there felt his mind was too sharp for him to live among residents with dementia.

After a period at the Oaks home, Colchester, he was sent to Colne House in Earls Colne, which also specialises in residents with dementia.

Meanwhile his house, in Millwrights, Tiptree, has stood empty and grown increasingly dilapidated.

The frustrated grandfather, who walks with a frame and has numerous health problems, says he feels like a prisoner. He has to wait for carers at Colne House to dress him before he can get out.

Most days he takes a bus to Colchester and sits drinking tea at a bookie’s shop in St Botolph’s Street. He says it’s better than sitting in the home, among residents unable to converse.

Mr Cleare added: “I only agreed to move out for a few weeks, but two years later, I’m still not back. It’s like something out of a film.

“I worked hard all my life to get my own house, but I can’t live there.

“I’m not demented, so I don’t know why I’m in a home. If I can’t be at home, I want to be in Colchester, near my family, instead of stuck out in the middle of nowhere.”

Essex County Council, which organises social care, and Colchester Council, which is responsible for adapting houses for disabled residents, both claim to have tried hard to get Mr Cleare back home.

Colchester Council said grants for alterations to the house had been withdrawn because Mr Cleare’s family had failed to provide proof he owned the property by the time it specified.

Officials say he could apply for a new grant for the work, but the house had stood for so long it needs other repairs, which would not be covered by a grant.

Since the house is so cluttered inside, social services says Mr Cleare should not move back until it has been tidied and is safe for him to occupy, and carers to visit. However, there is no one to do the work.

An Essex County Council spokesman said: “Progress has been hampered by repeated difficulties in engaging with Mr Cleare and his relatives, as a result of which, the property remains dilapidated.”