A DEVOTED grandson has spoken out about his anguish over losing the council property which has been in his family for more than 50 years.

Grandmother Gladys Marshall and her family have made many happy memories in the five decades she has lived in her council property in Coronation Drive, Dalton.

However, a recent spate of ill health has led the family to make the difficult decision of putting her into a care home and resulted in her grandson Craig Marshall, asking Barrow Borough Council permission to take over the property.

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He said: "We are being told we can't do it. It's a swap, one three bedroom property for a three bedroom property.

"It's upsetting for the whole family, not just us because everyone wants to keep it in the family.

"We have had four generations of family grow up in that house and it's just sentimental.

"We have invested thousands in that house, my dad worked on the garden, I do all the maintenance work and take care of it- it's so upsetting and causing us unnecessary stress.

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"My grandma has been a tenant for over 50 years and she's probably paid for the house two times over.

"We've got a lot of sentimental attachments with this property, my grandfather died there."

Mr Marshall who lives in Thirlmere Close, with his partner Faye Cairns, believes he should be able to do a straight swap of his three-bedroom property for his grandmother's.

The Dalton born resident has spoken with various members of staff in the council's housing department and says the process they keep referring to "has come out of nowhere."

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Colin Garnett, Barrow Borough Council's assistant director for housing said current laws surrounding succession of tenancies meant that Mr Marshall would not be entitled to take the house.

He said their only chance would be to join the Better Letting Scheme and bid for the property once it became available.

But there would be no guarantee they would be the highest priority bidders.

He said: "This is social rented housing and how we deal with this is what the law tells us to do.

"The system is there to help people with housing need and we have a moral obligation to do that.

"If you are entitled to something you will get it and I can understand exactly how they feel about it, but we have to operate within the procedures."