A KEIGHLEY woman fears she will become a prisoner in her home after having her right to a disabled bus pass removed.

Andrea Steel has received free travel on local buses for the past 15 years, but was refused a new pass when she last applied for renewal.

Mrs Steel, 54, of Nashville Road, claims she now has to rely on friends to pay her bus fare if she wants to meet them in town.

She suffers from numerous health problems, including panic attacks, depression, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, sciatica and inflamed cartilages in her knees, so relies on public transport to get around.

Mrs Steel said: “I can’t move at all when everything kicks in. Sometimes, I can’t get even get out of bed.

“The bus pass meant I wasn’t stuck in the house 24/7. I could go to meet my friends for a coffee in town.

“Now, I can only go into town if I can walk. I feel bad asking my friends to lend me the bus fare to go home. It’s food or the bus, heat or meet. I have no independence."

Bradford Council refused to renew Mrs Steel’s bus pass because she received only lower rate mobility allowance from the Department of Work and Pensions.

The council’s eligibility criteria states people must receive higher rate mobility allowance in order to qualify.

Mrs Steel said she received her first bus pass in the late 90s and it had been renewed every few years ever since without a problem.

She added: “In the past, they accepted the fact I’m on the lower rate. I’ve been honest about it. I’ve been classed as medically unfit to work, and I’ve used a stick for the past ten years."

Although the council makes the initial assessment on whether to issue disabled bus passes, appeals are made to West Yorkshire passenger transport body Metro.

Mrs Steel claims she submitted an official appeal to Metro soon after being refused the bus pass earlier this year, but has heard nothing since, despite making numerous calls.

She added: “I tried ringing them, but it's either engaged or there's nobody there. If anyone answers they say it’s being dealt with.”

A spokesman for Metro this week said Mrs Steel was sent an appeal form but the organisation has no record of receiving the form back.

Mrs Steel received a new appeal form last weekend, the day after the Keighley News approached Metro for a comment.

Bradford Council was unavailable for comment at the time of going to print.