A seriouisly ill man waiting for a heart transplant is being forced to climb dozens of stairs to his house because a more suitable council home is not available.

Phillip Braddock, 48, and his wife Tina recently lost out on an ideal place because it was given to a younger woman who had been waiting for a longer period.

Mrs Braddock, who lives with her husband in Harmsworth Crescent, Hove, said: "We have to move somewhere close to where we are now because my husband is ill and has to regularly go in and out to hospital.

"We are also on standby to be called up to London for the transplant at any time.

Access to the house is via alleyways and several flights of stairs, which makes it impossible for an ambulance to get close.

Mrs Braddock, 39, said the couple had been on the housing list for 14 months and were looking for somewhere on the ground floor, with easy access and room for their two children Elizabeth, 17, and Samuel, 13.

She said: "I don't normally speak out but this is my husband's life we are talking about.

"I understand there is a lot of need for houses and a list has to be made. We are classed as a top priority but we still lost out to someone else.

"However, my husband is a very sick man and this place is simply not suitable for him.

"I would have thought a person's health was more important than the length of waiting time.

"If he does have a transplant there is no way he will be able to come back here afterwards.

"This is adding to the stress we are already under."

A spokeswoman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: "The council is very sympathetic to Mrs Braddock's unfortunate situation.

"She is categorised as band A, which puts her in the top three per cent of housing needs.

This consists of four bands, A to D, all of whom have the chance to bid for available properties in the council's Choice Based Letting Scheme.

"To be as fair as possible, priority within band A has to be given to the applicant that has been waiting to be rehoused the longest.

"This was the case with Mrs Braddock.

"The HomeMoveTeam work within constraints of high demand to help families such as Mrs Braddock's and appreciate her reasons for wanting to remain in her neighbourhood.

"Mrs Braddock will have the opportunity to bid for a more suitable three-bedroom property within her area as soon as one becomes available but she can also bid for another property anywhere in the city if she chooses and is in a good position because of her banding."

Dawn Barnett, Brighton and Hove city councillor for Hangleton and Knoll, said: "I believe this family should be a top priority regardless of length of time. This is not a suitable place for him to be in both now and after any operation he has."