A COUPLE have been turned down as foster carers over a bedroom with three steps - and have branded the system "impossible."

Kevin Savage and his wife Danielle, who have three children, were knocked back after their end-terrace home was deemed to be unsuitable.

The family, from Church, were told that the home was unsuitable because one bedroom is on a split level and has three steps in it - and the attic bedroom is dangerous because of its retractable pull-down stairway.

But Mr Savage said that tests and checks carried out by Blackburn with Darwen Council's chil-dren's services depart-ment were "completely unreasonable."

He said: "We were quite willing to level off the room but they did not give us the chance."

Hyndburn MP Greg Pope said: "There are thousands of these terraced houses across East Lancashire - are they not good enough for the people who live in them already?"

Mr Savage, of Dill Hall Lane, is a full-time carer for his eldest daughter Suzanne, 22, who is severely mentally handicapped.

He said the experience of bringing up three children, along with looking after three grandchildren, should have made the couple an ideal choice for foster carers.

He said: "When our son Michael left home to go to university we thought about having another child but there are so many adverts asking for foster carers that we thought we would pursue that option.

"But our home meeting was ludicrous. Two women came to visit us and did their best to put us off."

The couple had decided that when the fostered baby was old enough it would be moved from a cot in their bedroom into the adjacent bedroom.

This is currently occupied by their son Matthew, 14, who would then move into the converted loft. Michael, 19, who is away at university would share with Matthew when he came home, while Suzanne would have the back bedroom.

He said that the fact that they were told to attend an 18-month long parenting course before they could foster was another example of the "unreasonable" hoops that the family was being asked to jump through.

Peter Morgan, strategic director of Blackburn with Darwen's children's services, said: "We can not comment on individual cases.

"However, we have a series of criteria that we must consider when assessing suitability for fostering.

"Our policy, which is in keeping with national standards, is that children over the age of 18 months must have their own bedroom.

"Homes must also meet a wide range of health and safety requirements."

Mr Pope said: "The irony is that children have been brought up in this house already, so surely it is good enough for a foster child who desperately needs a loving home.

"I hope both parties will reconsider the situation."