A SEVERELY disabled Watchet woman who feared her family was being torn apart by their unsuitable living accommodation is celebrating after landing the home of her dreams.

Victoria Parkhill was crippled when she broke her neck in 2006 and now suffers a range of other health problems, including autonomic dyspraxia, which affects every movement she makes.

She has to take numerous tablets each week and often ends up in hospital after having accidents in her home.

But Mrs Parkhill, aged 31, said life was being made a misery not so much by her ailments but by the fact her Magna West Somerset Housing Association home in Maglands Road had a temperamental stairlift and no downstairs toilet.

"All I've got downstairs is a living room and kitchen so I've had to put a commode in the kitchen, which really isn't nice.

"My children have been through enough - they were without me for nearly a year after the accident and now they can't bring friends home like normal children because of the set-up."

She said the third bedroom in her home was little more than a box room and her 14-year-old son had to sleep on a mattress as a bed would not fit into the room.

She also has two daughters aged ten and 11 and an 18-month-old baby.

Mrs Parkhill said: "I've lived here about five years and I feel I've lost my dignity.

"Often I try and drag myself up the stairs to use the toilet to save the children from any further embarrassment."

Things came to a head this week after Mrs Parkhill had applied for a bigger, four bedroom Magna home in Helwell Green.

As well as a separate dining room to give the family more space, the property also boasted a downstairs toilet.

But under the current system used to let homes, Mrs Parkhill feared her case would not be a top priority and was worried she would miss out on the property.

But after an inquiry from the Free Press, Magna contacted Mrs Parkhill on Wednesday and told her the house was hers.

"I can't thank you enough for what you've done. You're the first people to actually sit and really listen to me - thank you from the bottom of my heart," Mrs Parkhill told the Free Press.

Christine Boland, Magna's tenant services manager, said the association had been fully aware of the problems facing Mrs Parkhill and had been working to try and make her living accommodation more acceptable.

"We have been aware of Mrs Parkhill's difficult circumstances for some time and were actively working with West Somerset Council and Mrs Parkhill to adapt her property to meet her needs," she said.

"In addition to this, Mrs Parkhill recently put in a housing application to move.

"We have very limited numbers of four bedroomed houses and they don't always become vacant when and where they are needed most."

If Mrs Parkhill had missed out on the Helwell Green property as she feared, there would still have been a glimmer of light for her at the end of the tunnel.

Tom Bown, of West Somerset Council, confirmed Mrs Parkhill had been successful in applying for a disability facility grant to fund a much-needed extension to her Maglands home.

Mr Bown said the grant was being held in abeyance until a decision was known on her Helwell Green application.

Magna had also given permission for the extension, but with the news of an imminent house move to Helwell Green, the grant and extension will no longer be needed.

A delighted Mrs Parkhill added: "The new house has got so much more room for us - the dining room will double as a room for the kids and I will no longer have to have the indignity of using a commode in the kitchen.

"I can't stop crying about it, it's just so amazing and will make such a huge difference to our lives.

"You have helped to make me and the kids so happy. It's wonderful," Ms Parkhill said.