THE relative of a pensioner who has been forced out of a Melksham care home after more than 30 years is worried the move could spark depression.

A 75-year-old was one of the first residents to be moved out of Waverley House as part of a shake-up of care home services.

One of his relatives, who did not wish to be named, said he has felt isolated since moving to a home in Trowbridge because he has lost all his friends.

"He's not very happy and not the same as he was because he's not been having a conversation with anyone. He likes to talk to people," she said.

"I'm worried the change could make him depressed."

The pensioner's relative said the move meant it was harder for her to visit him because he now lived further away and she does not own a car.

She relies on a charity transport service to make the monthly trip to Trowbridge.

"I'm very upset because he has been there for so many years," she said.

"He's so far away from me now. It takes ages to get there. I would rather he was nearer to me."

Waverley House, which was home to 22 men and women with learning difficulties, is due to close next April.

Wiltshire County Council made the decision to axe the home in Semington Road after a best value review of learning disability services, and will replace it with more modern facilities in surrounding towns.

Earlier this year campaigners handed in an 870-name petition in protest over the closure and gathered outside County Hall to lobby officers before a meeting about the home's future.

Protester Peter Colegate is worried more residents could suffer when they are moved out. He said the 75-year-old's plight showed the county council was not keeping its promise of moving residents to smaller homes, closer to their relatives.

He said: "It seems our fears were justified. These vulnerable, elderly people are being moved from their home to accommodation which is having, as we feared, a detrimental effect on their health."

Dr Ray Jones, director of adult and community services for the county council, said he was satisfied residents were being moved to more suitable care homes.

"We undertook an assessment of each of the service users and their families to find the best arrangements for them," he added.

"A lot of the residents are elderly and their needs are quite different. Waverley House is an aging building which is not best designed for them."