ELDERLY and disabled residents from a village near Eastleigh have vowed to block bulldozers that could be about to level their homes.

Eastleigh Housing Associ-ation, the owner of the row of sheltered bungalows that are under threat, wants to tear them down and build a block of up to 14 one- and two-bedroom flats.

But the OAPs are making a defiant stand because many have sunk their life-savings into renovating the once-shabby properties by redecorating, carpeting and in some cases building patios.

Hundreds of locals are rallying round, adding their names to a petition that is gathering momentum among outraged residents of the village.

Multiple sclerosis sufferer Jean King, 57, lives with husband Alan, 60, in one of the four earmarked bungalows on East Drive, Bishopstoke.

Mrs King said: "We are going to refuse to move and stand our ground even when the bulldozers come to tear them down.

"We have invested all of our savings into the bungalow because we thought we were staying. We didn't think for one minute they would knock them down.

"They haven't got any more spare bungalows in the area so God knows where we will end up going."

Bishopstoke Parish and Eastleigh Borough Councillor Andy Moore fears the planning application - expected in December - will be given the green light.

But he added: "If we don't make a stand here in Bishopstoke they are going to try it all over the borough. I know there's a housing shortage but I'm not prepared to see OAPs thrown out of their bungalows."

More than 40 people crowded into this month's parish council meeting, complaining about the lack of consultation with the local council plus expressing fears that the character of the area would be changed.

Bishopstoke Parish Council agreed to write to the housing association registering concern about the lack of consultation and questioning whether there would be further similar applications.

Eastleigh Housing Association chief executive David Smith told the Daily Echo that the bungalows were inadequate and needed to be demolished to make way for an increased number of well-equipped flats.

Mr Smith said: "The modern bungalows we build have smaller gardens but are bigger inside so they have room for adapted facilities.

"We will move the residents to other properties and they will receive compensation."

Pat Shelley, the services director of Eastleigh Housing Association's parent group, Atlantic Housing, stressed that the scheme was at a very early stage. He pointed to the "significant homeless problem" in the borough and said the association was constantly looking at how to make the best use of its assets.