A 78-year-old man who sometimes crawls around his home because he is so unsteady on his feet has failed to qualify for home help.

James McCarthy, who lives alone in Worthing, has a long list of ailments.

He is blind in one eye, wears a leg brace due to having polio as a child, has diabetes, hypertension, glaucoma, heart disease and urinary incontinence. He also suffers from depression.

Mr McCarthy has become so withdrawn that he never answers his telephone.

His daughter, Carol Van Achter, has applied for attendance allowance for him from the Benefit Agency but he receives no money and therefore cannot qualify for free home help.

Mrs Van Achter, who lives in Harrow, has been pushing for the allowance for six months with no success.

She was turned down twice by the Benefits Agency, which said her father did not qualify.

This means he must carry on alone or spend his life savings paying for expensive home help.

Mr McCarthy has a small amount of savings in the bank but does not want to spend the money he took years to earn paying for home help which he feels he should be entitled to free of charge.

He wants to leave what little he has for his five grandchildren when he dies.

Mrs Van Achter has written to the Prime Minister to plead with him to take up her case.

She said: "I have made countless inquiries to social services and continuous calls on his behalf.

"I told them he was not requesting money but only help with his day-to-day activities such as shopping and cleaning.

"He tries to be as independent as possible but now suffers from continuous falls.

"These occur when he is trying to shop unaided and also around the house.

"He often finds himself crawling around the flat because he is so unsteady on his feet.

"He has become so anxious about his lack of stability that he is reluctant to leave his flat and hardly eats.

"I am totally disgusted, angry and exasperated by this disgraceful situation.

"He is worn out and so am I. My dad keeps telling me to give up but I won't."

A spokesperson for the Benefits Agency said: "Attendance allowance is a benefit for people disabled over the age of 65 who need help with personal care.

"We are unable to comment on individual cases.

"Customers who are unhappy about a decision can write in and ask for it to be looked again or they can appeal if they are not satisfied with a review decision."