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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Chiara Fiorillo

Sweden moves to deport British widow with Alzheimer's who can't walk or talk

Swedish cops are moving ahead with plans to deport a British woman who has Alzheimer's disease and is unable to walk or talk.

Kathleen Poole, from Macclesfield, Cheshire, moved to Sweden 18 years ago as she wanted to be close to her son Wayne, his Swedish wife Angelica and their four children.

But the 74-year-old woman developed dementia 11 years ago and has been in a care home for the past 10 years.

The widow is now unable to walk or talk - and she cannot feed herself or go to the bathroom without being helped.

In a case that has been described as "deeply shocking" by Labour MP Hilary Benn, Swedish cops are now pressing ahead with plans to deport the elderly woman who they say has no right to remain in the country after Brexit.

Kathleen with her son Wayne and her daughter-in-law Angelica (Angelica Poole)

Sweden rejected an application made on Ms Poole's behalf by her family as she does not have an up-to-date passport or financial statements to prove she can stay in Sweden.

The bedridden woman does not travel due to her condition, her family told the authorities.

But on Friday, they were told by the British embassy in Stockholm that the police had been "pressing" it to find a care home for Ms Poole in the UK, reports The Guardian.

An embassy official told the family: "It is impossible to say how long it will take but when we have found a care home willing to receive your mum, the police will give us a travel date and we will have to issue an emergency passport."

Ms Poole's daughter-in-law Angelica said her 11-year-old son was worried police would show up and take his grandmother away.

MP Hilary Benn said: "This is deeply shocking. What on earth do the Swedish authorities think they are doing? The EU Commission must intervene to stop this from happening."

The Mirror has contacted the Foreign Office for comment.

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