AN ELDERLY couple separated by the council in a dispute over care homes have been reunited - but the solution is only temporary.

Gordon Kennedy, 96, was moved to a care home in Bexleyheath at the end of April but his wife Marie, 86, was not allowed to join him.

Mr Kennedy suffers from prostate cancer and slight dementia while his wife has severe osteoarthritis and also the onset of dementia.

But now, after News Shopper highlighted the couple’s plight, Bexley Council has relented and allowed Mrs Kennedy to stay with her husband of 66 years at the home.

However, their daughter Sandra Blight is still trying to get her parents moved somewhere nearer her own house in Ramsgate.

She found one suitable care home but claims the council put so many restrictions on the move that it fell through.

Mrs Blight is now waiting to see whether the council will accept a place she has found in Deal.

She said: “My dad’s 96 now - how much more is he going to see of his family?

“If they could come down here we could see them a few times a week. We could take a walk along the seafront.”

But she said her parents mood had improved a lot since they were reunited last week.

She said: “They’re doing ok. I think my mum’s happy again now she’s not sitting at home alone. She was worried about my dad as well.

“They still want to come home with me though.”

A spokesman for Bexley Council claimed media reports about the couple had been “misleading” and said it was working with the family to find an alternative home.

He said: “Sometimes vulnerable or older people are not always able to give a clear decision on what they want for themselves and their views may change from day to day. In some cases, families may not fully agree on the best way forward.”

Cabinet member for adult social care and health Councillor David Hurt said: ”In cases such as these, good councils must ensure that vulnerable people are cared for by services that best meet their needs, while ensuring that taxpayers money is spent wisely and fairly."