Mum's pain over autistic son 40 miles from home

Annette Hill wants to bring her son closer to her home in Shrewsbury

A mother with a severely autistic son has said it is "soul destroying" that he has to live in council-provided accommodation 40 miles (64km) away.

Michael Hill is 34, has complex needs and for the last decade has been staying in Independent Living Accommodation in Dudley.

His mother, Annette, lives in Shrewsbury and says she has been promised his "swift return" to Shropshire, but nothing has materialised.

Shropshire Council said it would not comment on individual cases, but its aim was to "ensure that all options are considered which best meet the needs of all individuals".

Ms Hill said the accommodation in the Brierley Hill area of Dudley Borough was chosen in 2011 due to a shortage of suitable accommodation in Shrewsbury.

While she is not critical of the care he receives, she has been pushing to bring him closer to home.

"I've been asking every year when we have a best interest meeting and I've always been told there's no suitable provision in Shropshire," she said.

But she added: "I've seen other young people that have been out-of-county brought back in. I just can't understand why Michael hasn't."

Michael has been living in Independent Living accommodation for more than a decade

Ms Hill said when her son was young "we were a very close family and we did a lot of activities together", so being apart was difficult.

"It's so, so sad that he is so isolated and away from his family," she explained.

"You feel as if it's like he's been imprisoned."

At one stage a bungalow was offered within a mile of her home, she said, but the offer was withdrawn at the last minute, with the keys in their hands.

Annette Hill said it was "so, so sad" her son had to live far away from home

Since her son was placed in accommodation in the Black Country, Ms Hill has been travelling to meet up with him every fortnight.

Carers hand Michael over to his mother in a car park and they then spend the weekend together.

She said there was a lot of "hanging around" but added: "Michael copes with it really well and he's a superstar."

The charity Sense, which supports people with complex needs, said there was a lack of funding for services across the country for adults like Michael.

Its head of policy, Sarah White, said: "Lots of people aren't able to find the social care that they need local to them and that means that they are not able to get the support that they need in their day-to-day lives."

She said the charity's own research suggested about one in five people with complex disabilities felt they did not have the right care and support to meet their needs.

Annette and Michael spend every other weekend together

Shropshire Council's adult social care budget is forecast to rise to £130m, £11m over budget, and inflation has caused the cost of care placements to increase.

Despite this, the authority said: "We continue to work closely with commissioning and local care providers to strengthen our local provision to meet specific complex needs in county."