A DISABLED woman feels “trapped and suicidal” in a flat which she struggles to leave.

Sharon Brown lives on the third floor of Taunton Road in Bevendean, Brighton.

She has had several strokes and suffers from arthritis and currently depends on crutches and strong pain killers for her condition.

But she lives in a council flat that requires climbing 36 steps.

The 58-year-old is furious the Brighton and Hove City Council has refused her bids for other flats she feels are more appropriate to live in for her needs.

She said: “I want to kill myself.

“I am scared and my blood pressure is through the roof.

“I’ve had so many falls just in my room, and the stairs I have to go up are lethal.

“I have had strokes because of the stress the council are putting me through.”

The mother of one said the stairs she has to climb are almost impossible to go up because they are very narrow.

She said due to her complex medical history, she requires a ground-floor flat and one that will suit her needs.

Ms Brown lives with a friend, who would rather not be named, who helps look after her.

She said the two would be happy living in a studio flat because she prefers to sleep on the sofa connected to her sleep apnoea machine, which helps her breathe while sleeping.

Her friend could sleep in the bed.

But according to Ms Brown, the council has refused a studio flat as an option saying it would be too overcrowded for them.

She said: “What I don’t understand is, there is a studio flat in Cowley Drive in Woodingdean which we bid for.

“But the council said we would be too overcrowded in there.

“What I don’t understand is I know there are two people living in studio flats so why can’t we? I know people who don’t have the needs that I have and they are getting away with it, it’s just so unfair.”

Ms Brown said the place in Woodingdean would have been perfect because she would have been close to her 29-year-old daughter, Darrolle.

The two of them featured on the Jeremy Kyle Show, a TV talk programme, to discuss their family difficulties.

She said: “My daughter has special needs and I want to be close to her.

“She’s currently living in assisted accommodation.

“I want to be with her because she’s had a tough time.”

Ms Brown said she had felt forced to exchange with other tenants to live in her current flat because her previous home had woodlice and rats.

She said: “I just had to get out of that other flat, it was unreal. I break down in front of my doctor at the moment because I just really need the help.”

A council spokesman said: “We did not place this couple in their current property, they chose to move in there through a mutual exchange arrangement.

“There is an acute shortage of affordable accommodation in the city.

“We are aware of their wish to move, and are working to help them find alternative accommodation that is suitable to their needs.”