Old folk who fear they will have to leave their villages when their sheltered housing closes met housing managers yesterday.

People living in Windows Court, Roman Road, Wheatley, and Badgers Close, Forest Hill, had been told they would be rehoused by South Oxfordshire Housing Association (Soha), which says more accommodation is needed for single people, couples and families. South Oxfordshire District Council also said there was too much sheltered housing.

Soha told residents yesterday that it would try to rehouse people in the same village, although this could not be guaranteed.

Edward Willoughby, 76, of Windows Court, said: "I think it's reasonable. The main bulk of my family is buried in Garsington Church and I want to get within striking distance to look after their graves.

"They say I can move to Cuddesdon or Horspath and then I can take a bus to Garsington from there. I'll be happy to move, but I do feel sorry for some of the others that have been there for much longer than me."

One relative of a resident, who declined to be named, said: "They seem to be bending over backwards now. They have stopped saying it'll be 12 months for them to move out. Now they're saying it's a long process. I do feel better about it now."

A Windows Court resident, 70, who declined to give his name, said he was happy to move as long as he could stay in Wheatley. He said: "Everybody seemed all right about it at the meeting. It was just the initial shock."