MUM Lesley Fox is fighting to have her 18-year-old daughter – who has disabilities and requires 24-hour care – found a home in Chippenham, where she can enjoy her adult life close to her family.

Kerry Fox underwent an operation to remove a brain tumour when she was eight. The operation saved her life but left her with severe physical and learning difficulties. The teenager has attended Treloar College in Alton, Hampshire since she was 16, as her mum believed there was nowhere in Wiltshire which could support her needs.

Kerry only comes home every three weeks to see her family, when she receives part-time care.

Now her mum wants her to have a full-time place at Chippenham’s Greathouse care home, and is battling Wiltshire Council to make it happen.

“We feel that now it’s reaching a crisis. She should be in one place full-time,” said Mrs Fox, 53, of Bayliffes Close, who has two other daughters and is married to Malcolm, 57, who works full-time.

“Every three weekends she comes home. It’s heart-breaking for a mum because she’s still my daughter and I still love her. You can’t just cut people out of your lives.

“It was my choice [to send her to Hampshire] but there was nowhere local for her to go at the time.

“The council say she can stay in the same place, but Greathouse can meet all her needs.”

Mrs Fox, who has health problems and recently spent seven weeks in hospital, is unable to care for her daughter full-time and struggles to travel to see her.

She believed that once Kerry turned 18 she would be able to receive full-time care closer to home.

“Before the operation she was completely normal but she’s ended up disabled and cognitively affected,” she said.

“She can understand people and talk but she has learning disabilities and needs 24-hour care.

“She can walk but has ataxia so she has to be supervised on her walker and she has stomach problems and is sick every day."

A Wiltshire Council spokesperson said: “We always work closely with families to ensure there is the right mix of support and independence available when young people move on to the next phase in their life.

“In this case the parents had previously requested to retain the Hampshire college place this September, however as their preference has since changed we will consider the other options available in the best interests of the young person.”