This is the human face of "bed blocking" a 77-year-old York man close to giving up because he is stuck on a hospital ward and feels no-one wants him.

Eric "Jack" Walker, who has lived in the Hull Road area all his life, has been on York District Hospital's stroke rehabilitation ward for 16 weeks despite his doctors saying he is fit to go to a nursing home.

But Mr Walker's daughter and son-in-law, Jackie and Fred Meek, say they still have no idea what is happening, though they were told things ought to start moving in early September.

The former long-distance lorry driver has become one of the victims of "bed blocking", people who have to stay on hospital wards because hard-up City of York Council social services have to ration the nursing home places they can fund.

Hospital chiefs fear the impact on their capacity to deal with any winter beds crisis and major efforts are being made to solve the immediate problem, including the injection of £240,000 of NHS money.

Mr Walker was taken to hospital after collapsing at his home, then suffered a massive stroke in hospital.

He has recovered enough to leave the ward freeing up a much-needed hospital bed as winter approaches.

Mr Walker says he wants to "go in a nursing home for a bit", although the nurses have been marvellous.

"I'm not used to being boxed in, you see. I had the freedom of the road. I've never been tied down in my life," he says.

Mr and Mrs Meek are growing increasingly frustrated at what they see as a lack of information from City of York Council's social services department, which Mr Meek describes as an "impasse".

Mrs Meek says her father has battled through four heart attacks and an abdominal aneurysm, but now he is close to giving up because he feels no-one wants him.

"He's been nicknamed the cat because of everything he's been through. Now he just sits there and wants to die.

"I can't watch him give up I won't, he's fought through everything else."

Mrs Meek says she is exhausted and on anti-depressants because of the situation.

They would like him to go to the Laurens Manor Nursing Home in Lawrence Street because it is near to his home area, but the home has quoted £390 a week to look after him and they understand the council has a ceiling of around £340.

But they say the other homes the council suggested also quoted figures over the ceiling.