THE mother of a Marine killed in Afghanistan has launched a campaign to help hundreds of vulnerable residents in desperate need of housing.

Foster mum of five years and community champion Lee Mackie is determined to improve the housing system, after she said residents are left waiting months for a suitable home.

Mrs Mackie, who lost thousands of pounds in savings after being targeted by a conman six years ago, has been inspired to embark on the campaign after suffering a fall at her Bampton home of 15 years in which she shattered her leg.

The mother-of-three, whose son Jason was killed by a roadside bomb in 2009, said: “We gave our son for this country and it feels like I have been completely let down.

“I need to be in a house that will help me get better, so I can start fostering again and contributing to the community.

“But I have just been passed from pillar to post.”

After leaving the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, in January she has been trapped in one room of her house, unable to access her upstairs or toilet and shower during her slow and painful recovery.

Mrs Mackie has had to give up foster caring, which says has brought her happiness again after 21-year-old Jason was killed in Afghanistan while serving with the Royal Marines.

Since returning from hospital Mrs Mackie has been pleading with West Oxfordshire District Council to help find her a bungalow, to aid her recovery and eventually see her return to foster caring.

Mrs Mackie is one of 1,893 registered applicants able to bid for properties on the council’s housing list.

She added: “They say that you need to apply online, I’m not from an era where I’m good with computer and technology.

“They ask you to send copies of all your doctors’ reports and letters to decide which band, which level of severity you are in needing a new home.

“I asked to have a support worker come out to my house to help fill in all the forms and details for me but no one came.

“If it wasn’t for my carer helping me fill everything out I do not know where I would be.”

Mrs Mackie has now been offered a bungalow in Chipping Norton but has to wait until the middle of August to view the property.

She added: “But what about the people who do not have the support system I had, that were telling me every day to ring the council and find out what is happening.

“I want to give a voice to those people, who like me, have an illness or disability and need suitable housing in order for them to get better quicker.

“It is such a confusing system, they really do not make it easy or accessible.”

Her friend and Bampton resident Ali Brown, who Mrs Mackie is helping to support, has had MS for the last 15 years and needs to move out of her current home by the end of the month because her landlord wants to sell it.

She has tried but with no avail to find somewhere else in time.

She added: “It is just so confusing I never know what I need to be filling out and how to bid online.

“I phoned up the council to ask if I could have someone come out and help me but they told me they could not send anyone because they were too busy.”

A spokesman for West Oxfordshire District Council Andrew Smith said: “More than 90 per cent of applications are handled successfully online.

“But if a client is having difficulties, we follow a process where the individual is invited into the office to be assisted with their application.

“Alternatively, a client support officer can visit them to offer individual guidance.

“The level of bids made on properties does not affect who we have available to support applicants, although a delay may occasionally be caused by the number of assessments and verifications carried out every day.”