A COUPLE whose "selfless dedication" to their severely disabled daughter has been praised by social services say they are being discriminated against by Kerrier district council.

Mrs Marie Roberts and her husband Lester have applied to the council to build a conservatory on the front of their home in Manor Road, Camborne.

The move would allow easy access to the house for their 18-year-old daughter Laura who, at the moment, lives in cramped conditions because the house is too small to accommodate her.

They say "the porch" is also needed to store essential medical equipment for Laura, who is described as one of the most disabled young women in the county.

The couple have two other daughters aged 11 and 16 living at the house.

But the district council's planning officers are recommending refusal of the porch application on the grounds it will set a precedent and is too big.

Yesterday members of the district council's planning committee voted to hold a site meeting before making a final decision on the application.

Speaking to the Packet this week, Mrs Roberts, who at one point left the meeting in tears, said that if the application is refused they will go to appeal and look into bringing a prosecution under the Disability Discrimination Act.

"We really feel we are being discriminated against," she said. "If it is refused we will go to appeal and look into using the Disability Discrimination Act.

"We have had 28 letters of support from our neighbours and there are 50 houses in our street. That means 28 of our neighbours are saying they have no objection to the development because it will improve Laura's quality of life. We are the only ones who can fight her corner for her."

Laura has suffered from severe brain damage since birth and needs a large amount of specialist equipment to support her.

Extracts from letters to the committee from the county's social services department say the new conservatory is essential to allow easy access for Laura, especially during the winter.

"I feel that Mr and Mrs Roberts are a couple and a family who have devoted their whole lives to ensuring that their daughter gets the best care that they can possibly provide." says one letter.

"This proposal is yet another example of the selfless dedication that this couple continues to devote on their daughter."

Despite this, Kerrier's head of planning Jon Pender says the application should be refused because there is the possibility of enlarging the house at the back.

He says this is the direction the couple should go in and the district council would support this, as it needs to protect the appearance of the street.

But in the letter from social services, Laura's occupational therapist says that an extension at the rear would be not be practical.

The proposed conservatory would "create so many added dimensions of quality to Laura's life and ease her parents' burden of caring for her immeasurably."