An 80-year-old amputee says he feels trapped in his own home and has not had a shower in 11 weeks because he lacks essential adaptations.

Joe Withers, of Alexandra Road, Alton says his wheelchair will not fit into his downstairs toilet and he cannot reach the wet room upstairs.

Before his amputation, Joe was a keen golfer who had played for the successful Alton Nomads football team in the 1970s. Now he needs help just to get his wheelchair over the front doorstep.

“This is my life, sitting here on my own watching that thing,” he said, gesturing at the television.

“I thought I’d be back playing golf by now. I spent £2,200 on new clubs and I’ve used them twice.”

The former concrete ganger and telehandler driver said he had spent “all my life putting money into the NHS” and wanted help to regain his independence.

He is seeking an indoor electric buggy that can fit through his doorways, an outdoor buggy for shopping, ramps so he can leave the house safely, and a stairlift.

Joe said: “An artificial leg is the main thing I want. I used to play golf two or three times a week but now I can’t play because I can’t walk.”

He added: “At the moment I feel like they’ve thrown me on the scrapheap and want to forget about me.”

Joe’s ordeal began during a round at Tylney Park Golf Club in Rotherwick in August 2025.

He said: “I hit my second shot into the bunker near the clubhouse. I went into the bunker, which was only a couple of feet deep, and I couldn’t get out of it again.

“I hobbled into the clubhouse to find out that the bloke I took to golf with me had gone off with the buggy that I had paid for.

“I just saw a grey mark around my leg. The next thing I knew they had taken my leg off. As you can imagine it was quite a shock.”

Joe said an infection had developed in the bone of his right lower leg over “a short space of time”. The following day, he said, infection was also found in his upper leg, requiring a further amputation.

He added: “They said if they hadn’t taken it off it would have killed me.”

After being assessed at four hospitals following the amputation, Joe moved into Bentley Lodge Care and Nursing Home just before Christmas last year.

He returned home around two months ago and now lives alone, describing himself as “a prisoner in my own home”.

A neighbour removed internal doors and thresholds to help him move between rooms, with his lounge now serving as his bedroom.

But Joe says his manual wheelchair is too wide for the downstairs toilet and he often scrapes his hands on door frames while pushing it. Without a stairlift, he cannot use the upper floor.

“I haven’t had a shower in 11 weeks and I have to try to do everything on one leg, which can be very awkward,” he said. “All I can do is have a strip wash in the kitchen.”

Joe also described experiencing “ghost pains” following the amputation.

“I get pins and needles in my foot even though I haven’t got a foot. The night before last it woke me up at 1.50am.”

He praised his neighbour Dan and friend Claire Sutton, who takes him shopping and out to lunch, as well as helping him in other ways.

He said: “She started off as my cleaner after my wife Elaine died six or seven years ago. When she found out about my leg she found out which hospital it was and came the next day to see me. When I woke up Claire was by my bedside.”

The NHS has been approached for comment.