Campaigners have welcomed a new law which will make it more difficult to close care homes.

Alice Pink, 93, and Edna Henshall, 84, both died after they were forced out their homes by the closure of Dresden House, Medina Villas, Hove.

Hove MP Celia Barlow believes the Charities Bill - which is passing through Parliament - could have saved their lives.

Mrs Pink died after apparently attempting suicide weeks after she moved out of the home and Mrs Henshall suffered a stroke on the day she was evicted.

The new bill is expected to make it harder for charities on which people depend for their well-being to close in future.

Hove MP Celia Barlow said she was angry that the new powers had come too late to save Mrs Pink and Mrs Henshall but believes the new law may provide a lasting tribute to their memories.

She said: "It (Dresden House) provides a telling example of a local charity not acting in the interests of its immediate beneficiaries.

"Despite widespread support and sympathy, the trustees' decision to close was unable to be challenged and at the beginning of March the elderly residents of Dresden House had the trauma of moving to new premises.

"I hope the Government will make sure that the new bill will stipulate the Charity Commission and the Charity Tribunal as the champions of the people who rely on them. We owe that to the many vulnerable people who depend on charities.

"It is very much in their honour and their spirit that I support the bill."

Dresden House closed after its trustees argued that they could no longer afford to run it.

However the Government's Commission for Social Care Inspection believed the home was financially viable.

Miss Barlow said: "The trustees were unwilling to provide residents with a clear reason for closure other than general financial circumstances which could not be independently verified because the trustees were unwilling to disclose their accounts before the end of the financial year."

Last week the Charities Commission announced that a final appeal made by campaigners and supporters of Dresden House had failed.

Nick Steadman, Mrs Pink's nephew, said he hoped their long running campaign would also provide a lasting legacy in the form of tougher laws. Conceding the fight last week, he said: "More trustee oversight is absolutely imperative."