PLANS to close a nursing home have been halted after a judge imposed an interim injunction on any further action at the site.

Stockton Borough Council has been ordered not to remove any more residents this week from its last remaining nursing home, Parkview, after relatives of one resident took legal action over the closure.

Lawyer Yvonne Hossack, who specialises in community care cases, has been brought in by the family of 101-year-old nursing home resident Sarah Rutter.

The widow has lived at the home, in Thorntree Road, Thornaby, near Stockton, for five years and her family believe a transfer to another site may prove detrimental to her health - or could even prove fatal.

They have claimed that decision to close the home was taken without proper consultation and without a clinical oversight and knowledge of the risks involved.

Over the bank holiday weekend, a judge agreed Ms Hossack's application for an interim injunction, which runs out on Friday, when she will meet with the council to discuss the plans further.

However, she has already started proceedings in an attempt to get a judicial review over the proposals to close the home.

Mrs Rutter's granddaughter, Chrissy Wardell, said: "We feel her health will deteriorate if she has to move out.

"This legal action is a last resort because we are very unhappy about what's happening and we don't feel that our concerns have been listened to.

"Families have been moving their families out so quickly, because they are frightened there will be no places left at other homes, but it is not good for the residents.

"I believe there will be fatalities. People do die when they are moved."

Ms Hossack said: "My clients feel that what the council is doing is dangerous."

But Sean McEneaney, head of adult operational services for the council, said it had worked very closely with all of the residents, families and carers to secure the best possible outcomes.

"None of the residents have been moved with unseemly haste - indeed there is no time limit," he said.

"In spite of an agreement to meet with Yvonne Hossack on May 30, and reassurances from her that the home would not close by that date, she secured an interim injunction, out of hours during a bank holiday weekend, which prohibited the council from presenting any relevant information to the judge.

"Regrettably, this action has now prevented a planned move this week for one resident who was due to rejoin three former Parkview residents in their new home.

"We are seeking legal advice to challenge the injunction in respect of the five residents who are not represented by Yvonne Hossack, but are directly implicated by the injunction and we will continue to work in the best interests of those affected residents in a caring, sensitive and professional way."