She has dedicated the majority of her 83 years to caring for other people.

Now in her time of need, the place Gladys May calls home could be taken away from her.

Larchwood Resource Centre, the care home where Gladys has lived for ten years, is set to be bulldozed by Brighton and Hove City Council to make way for a more modern complex.

Almost 50 years old, council officers say it is outdated and will soon need significant investment to bring it up to scratch.

The Government has offered the authority £2.3 million on condition building work starts by next March.

A new centre could provide more and better accommodation. It could also take in some bed-blockers at a time when the Government is under pressure to cut hospital waiting lists.

But the centre will not be able to cater for Gladys or the other four elderly people who live at Larchwood, in Waldron Avenue, Coldean. Or those who use it as a resource centre.

Gladys, who cared for her own parents in their old age, suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Although lucid and chatty at times, she requires 24-hour care. Her family say a move now would unsettle and probably kill her.

A decision on whether to keep Larchwood going will be made on September 20.