Outrage after council asked paralysed grandad to ‘blink’ and end his tenancy

A council has been forced to apologise after a paralysed grandad who couldn’t speak was asked to ‘blink’ to stop paying rent for a property he didn’t even live in.

Peter Badger, 64, was unable to verbally end his £350 per month tenancy after he was left paralysed from the neck down having suffered two brain bleeds.

His daughters tried to cancel the tenancy but were told by the council that it needed to come directly from their father – who couldn’t speak.

The sisters were left horrified after their dad, who had moved into a nursing home in July, was asked by a representative to blink to confirm the end of his tenancy.

Amber Badger, 32, branded the request as ‘so disrespectful’ and said: ‘I get that’s the law and they needed to hear it from, but he can’t speak.

‘There was no sensitivity. Thankfully the care home said no straight away.’

Mr Badger suffered his first aneurysm on October 9 last year after experiencing severe headaches and vomiting while attending a Peter Kay show at Wembley, London.

Although he showed initial signs of recovery, a second aneurysm on October 19 led to paralysis on his right side and breathing difficulties, requiring intubation.

By the end of October, shunt surgery resulted in full paralysis from the neck down.

His daughter applied for power of attorney in January to manage her father’s finances and end his tenancy at his council home in Millbrook, Southampton, Hants, but the process has been slow.

In June, he was moved from a council flat to a nursing home in Romsey, when Amber contacted the council to explain her dad’s situation and his desire to end the tenancy.

She was told the council needed confirmation directly from Mr Badger, either by a signed form or verbally.

Lara, Mr Badger’s eldest daughter, phoned the local authority and it was suggested to her that he should ‘blink’ to end the tenancy.

After telling them: ‘No that’s not happening’, Amber suggested ‘other options’ which were less disrespectful.

But eventually, Mr Badger agreed to the test as he ‘just wanted it over and done with’ – but the ‘blink test’ was never actually carried out as the council confirmed the end of tenancy following complaints from the family.

Amber said: ‘They haven’t treated Dad or us like humans, and it’s made an incredibly traumatic situation so much worse.’

Now, the council have confirmed the tenancy for the flat will be terminated.

Amber said: ‘I am super happy this has finally ended. I am so pleased for dad that we will be able to move forward to build a life for dad in the care home. However, it shouldn’t have had to come to this. What if dad didn’t have us?’

A spokesperson for Southampton City Council said: ‘Southampton City Council was first made aware Mr Badger was not living in [the flat] in July and had moved into a care home and wanted to end his tenancy.

‘We apologise for the delay in reviewing this request, and we will be reviewing our procedures. We will work with Mr Badger and his family to move the situation forward and apologise for any distress caused.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.