Pensioner Harry Mears has been left fuming after receiving an invitation to join his housing association on a Christmas jaunt to Cadbury World in Birmingham.

The trip is to celebrate Charter Community Housing's "successful" first nine months in operation.

But arthritic Mr Mears, 83, who lives with his wife in Bletchingdon, has been waiting for special grips to be fitted on his bath for months and would prefer the association to spend money on that rather than a trip to the Midlands.

The former train driver is unable to use his bath as he cannot comfortably climb in and out.

He sees the invitation to tomorrow's trip to "Birmingham's very own chocolate paradise" as the final insult.

Mr Mears said: "The bath grips still have not been fitted -- and then they send me this letter. They haven't done me any good for the past nine months.

"I think it's terrible they can waste this money on propaganda when all I want is money to put my bath right so I can get in and out. I haven't got many moons left to have a bath -- I want to have a good one before I go."

Mr Mears wrote a letter to social services asking for help, but received a letter saying the department was still wading through casework from March.

Social services staff receive around 500 applications for assessments by occupational therapists each month.

A therapist decides what adaptions and equipment -- such as stairlifts and wheelchair ramps -- are needed to make an individual's life more comfortable.

In March this year, Cherwell District Council transferred its housing stock to Charter Community Housing.

Ron Williamson, director of resources at Charter Community Housing, said: "Assessment of aids and adaptations are carried out by the social services department of Oxfordshire County Council.

"Those relating to tenants of properties owned by Charter Community Housing are then referred to our maintenance team and are implemented subject to available resources.

"Charter has yet to receive a referral from social services in this case as the matter is believed to be still with their occupational therapy team.

"Whilst we sympathise with Mr Mears's situation, Charter's policy is not to undertake works such as these without prior assessment by social services.

"This policy is believed to be common to all housing associations.

"Charter is celebrating the success of its first nine months in which improvement programmes have been implemented across the Cherwell district. Tenants have been invited on an outing to Cadbury's World as part of this celebration."