ELDERLY and disabled people who rely on taxis to get out and about say they have been left imprisoned in their own homes because Swindon Council has changed the rules of its concessionary travel scheme.

Residents at Arthur Bennett Court in Kingshill say they feel confused and let down by a scheme that was intended to make life easier for them.

Many, like stroke victim Ernie Scott, are wheelchair users who rely on carers to take them out to clubs and shops.

They were given two sets of vouchers last April one for them and one for their companion to enable both to claim £60 worth of free travel over the year.

But now it has emerged that the council altered the scheme halfway through the financial year.

It told taxi drivers that they should no longer accept the companion vouchers as payment for a fare, despite the vouchers stating clearly that they were valid until the end of March. That rendered the companion vouchers almost useless for carers of wheelchair users who can only travel easily by taxi.

Ernie, who also has angina and prostate cancer, can only get to his weekly club for sufferers of memory loss and dementia if his wife, Jean, takes him by taxi.

The only other way the vouchers can be used is on the Dial-a-Ride service, but Jean says it is difficult to book and offers less freedom of travel than taxis.

She has now been left with half a book of vouchers that she cannot use. Jean, 66, who lives at Arthur Bennett Court, with Ernie, said: "I'm very angry with the council. I don't understand why they gave me vouchers and then, after using £18 of them, I'm told they won't accept them anymore.

Jean also takes Christine Williams, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis, to Gala Bingo at Greenbridge every Wednesday.

Christine, 67, said the journey costs £12 there and back, so her vouchers pay for five only trips a year.

Fellow resident Elaine LaTouche, 85, who is not disabled, did not want any companion vouchers, but the council insisted she should take them. Yet after using them several times, she was then told they were invalid.

Councillor John Taylor (Lab, Central) has tried to help them resolve the issue, but believes the council is in the wrong and has called for an urgent review.

Council spokeswoman Lynda Fleming admitted the way the vouchers were printed was confusing and said a review of the scheme was being launched.

She said: "Last March, we recognised it hadn't been made clear that companion vouchers weren't valid on taxis.

"We clarified this with the operators then wrote to all potential users making the position clear. It was also discussed with senior councillors.''