AN elderly Wirral woman has become trapped in her home after bungling workmen dug a massive trench right outside her home.

Joan Bibby, 87, was shocked to find the four foot-wide gap had been made overnight, meaning she has no way of getting in or out of her home in Lingdale Road, Claughton.

Her son James said he was “astonished” to find that it had appeared with no apparent warning and is concerned for his mother’s safety.

He told the Globe: “My mother is housebound anyway but she has regular visits from people coming in to clean and to help her.

"She also has a partially-sighted friend who drops in on her and of course that won’t be possible at the moment.

“My main concern is that she could decide to go outside during the night and you can only imagine what would happen.

"I cannot believe that the workers did not think it necessary to install some sort of access ramp – it doesn’t make sense.”

Mr Bibby has now contacted contractors Carillion Telent, which is working on behalf of BT Openreach, to lodge a complaint and find out what has happened.

However he says he is concerned the company made little effort to warn his mother about the pending works and is worried she will become “isolated.”

He added: “As far as I can tell, she’s not been told about this in any way.

"She rarely answers the door to strangers so it may be the case that someone has called in on her but you would think that the company would make every effort to contact the householder and at the very least fit a ramp.

“If there was an emergency and she needed to call an ambulance or go to the doctors, I’ve no idea how she would get out.”

Wirral Council is not responsible for informing residents of BT work, however it has sent an officer to carry out an inspection.

Since the Globe raised the matter with Carillion Telent, an access passageway and ramp have now been installed.