A DESPERATE York mother said she has been pushed to breaking point by the lack of respite care available in the city for her autistic son.

Mandy Brunskill, of Lindley Wood Grove, Clifton, whose ten-year-old son, Liam, is severely autistic, said the long summer school holiday has left both her and her husband, Rod, exhausted.

Although the couple want to keep Liam at home with them for as long as possible, they fear that unless they receive more help they will be forced to place him in a home with round-the-clock care sooner rather than later. Mrs Brunskill, who is among parents suing the makers of the MMR vaccine, which they believe caused their children's autism, said that she had a strong family, but even they were finding it increasingly difficult to cope.

Liam has been offered eight days of care throughout the six-week holiday and two overnight stays at The Glen in Ousecliff Gardens, Clifton. He is also placed with the Snappy activity team for a week.

But this is not enough, according to Mrs Brunskill, who says that special schools, such as Lidgett Grove which Liam attends, should remain open during the summer or alternative care should be provided.

Mrs Brunskill said: "There may be some argument that a child as severe to live with as Liam should be put into full-time residential care.

"We do not want this for him, he has progressed at home, we provide a loving family environment for him and he has built up strong relationships with us over the years.

"We have no doubts there will be a time for him to be placed into care, but we struggle to keep him with us as long as we can.

"I feel betrayed by the council that they are unable to provide myself and my family proper breaks to allow us to cope."

Mrs Brunskill said that providing more respite care would be cheaper for the council than having to provide residential care.

Peter Dwyer, assistant director of children's services at City of York Council, said the council had invested heavily in services for disabled children because increasing pressure was being placed on those services.

He said: "We recognise that much is still to be done, and in particular work is taking place currently between staff from the authority with partners from other agencies to strive to ensure that all resources are fully utilised and that as a result, children and their families receive an integrated response to the many complex and challenging demands that face them."

Mr Dwyer said he was keen to expand the pool of families which can provide short-term family-based care for disabled children. Anyone interested in becoming a Sharing Care family should contact Jenny Bullock on 01904 555633.

Updated: 08:22 Tuesday, August 13, 2002