Adapting two homes to make them more suitable for people with disabilities took up more than half of Barrow Borough Council's disabled facilities budget.

The council voted to help adapt two houses on Ruskin Avenue and Raglan Court in Dalton, spending £55,000 of their £100,000 budget in the process.

Margaret Burrow, Barrow and District Disability Association CEO, said it showed how costly such work can be and why the financial support is necessary.

She said: "I do know how costly it is to do disabled modifications.

"£55,000 sounds a lot but it’s not.”

Margaret developed spinal problems and heart disease and has come to terms with life using a wheelchair. She added: “If you’re doing adaptations like baths and bathrooms and approaches to and from a property, all these cost a lot to any individual.

"So, the money they are spending is about right.”

Chris Jay, from the disability advice service Bascule, would like to see the council have a much larger budget for disabled people in the area.

He said: “I spent at least £55,000 on widening doorways and installing a wet room, modifying the kitchen, etc., to make my house suitable for me. If someone needed, for example, a lift installed, you could very easily see how such an amount could be spent on an individual property. If I were to argue anything it would be that the budget of £100,000 is very small given said costs. Everybody with disabilities has different needs so these houses may need to be modified yet again.”

In the last census poll in 2011, Barrow had 24.8 per cent of people marked down as disabled or who have a substantial medical condition that affects their lives.

The spending by the council came from a freedom of information request which also showed that the council paid out for five large adaptations to its housing stock this financial year and a further 19 minor adaptations such as grab rails and major repairs to stair lifts.

Margaret said the Government “has a pot of money that councils can apply for to get extra disabled access funding.”