A DISABLED woman and her daughter will face a “nightmare” getting in and out of their home if the council approves plans to extend the house next door.

Helen Coughlan, 49, of Highfield Road in Woodford Bridge, says if councillors give the green light, her elderly mother, Marion Brooks, will become virtually housebound while the work is carried out.

The house's owner, Tariq Ahmed, wants to demolish the existing garage and build a two-storey extension to the side and rear of the house.

However, Mr Coughlan said her porch would be surrounded by scaffolding for months, plus the finished building would sit just two feet from her home and would block out all natural light to her dining room.

Mrs Coughlan said: “I'm trying not to worry my mother with it all but she is going to be trapped in the house while they do the work.

“She's 74 years old and she'll be a prisoner in her own home. She won't even be able to get out into the garden.

“The scaffolding has already been up for six months so goodness knows how much longer it will be there.

“If it goes through I'm going to lose all the light in my dining room as well. It will be a nightmare.”

The council's planning experts have recommended that councillors grant the application, but Mrs Coughlan has arranged for a member of the planning department to visit her on the morning of the meeting and hopes to persuade them to reconsider.

Mr Ahmed said: “I've got four children and another one on the way. All I'm trying to do is make my house bigger for my kids.

“I'm doing everything by the law and trying not inconvenience anybody but I'm just getting grief from next door.”

Members of Redbridge Council's regional planning committee west will meet tomorrow night (Wednesday, November 24) to consider the application.