A woman who fled to the Orkneys to escape problems in Sussex now faces eviction from emergency accommodation on the islands.

Wheelchair-bound Ruth Taylor was taken to the Orkney Islands, off northern Scotland, by her soldier son Matthew.

He has been reported as telling The Orcadian newspaper he took his 56-year-old mother there in June, via France and The Netherlands, because of problems in the Brighton council house where she lived.

Mr Taylor told the newspaper he was facing court martial after going absent without leave when he took his mother away.

When The Argus contacted him at a military institution at Colchester, he said he was no longer allowed to speak to the Press.

He is quoted in The Orcadian as saying: "Upon our arrival in Orkney I contacted the Orkney Islands Council (OIC) and asked for help.

"We were financially insolvent and homeless. The OIC reacted gallantly to our predicament, providing shelter until a decision was made as to whether assistance would continue."

The OIC decided Miss Taylor was not officially homeless because she had a council house in Brighton.

Miss Taylor, who suffered a stroke three years ago, was reported as saying she could not bear to go back to Brighton because the house had no carpets or furniture.

Geraldine Loughran, co-ordinator of Advocacy Orkney, which helps the vulnerable, said Miss Taylor faced eviction from emergency accommodation on September 17.

She said: "Her family situation wasn't great and I think she found social services weren't aware of her distress."

She did not believe Miss Taylor feared physical abuse in Brighton.

She said: "I don't know what's going to happen to her. It may be that social services here will help her find private rented accommodation.

"It may be they will send her back to Brighton and ask social services there to pay the fare.

"There is also the possibility they will provide her with services here if Brighton and Hove City Council paid for them."

OIC assistant housing director John Richards said eviction proceedings against Miss Taylor would start if she had not left emergency accommodation by September 17.

A city council spokeswoman refused to comment until officers had more information.