Kirkfieldbank couple betrayed by the system

Almost a model of what a decent, hard-working middle-aged couple should be, they feel that, now that they desperately need its help, the system they’ve supported all their lives is letting them down badly.

Since Joe lost the use of his legs in an accident early last year, the quality of support the couple have been given by various public bodies has been described by Anne Marie as “pathetic”.

The series of disasters which Joe describes as “turning our lives totally upside down” started when the 50-year-old coach driver suffered a bad knee injury in 2010.

He was nearing fitness to return to work in February last year when he broke his neck in a fall in the shower at their home in Kirkfieldbank, leaving him paralysed for life from the waist down.

For more on this story pick up a copy of the Lanark Gazette, which is in the shops now.