Woman has 600-mile round trip to care for parents but gets just £83 a week

A WOMAN has revealed how she receives the equivalent of just £1 an hour to care for her frail parents - despite the pair living 300 miles apart.

- ROBERT DALLING

Lisa Ferne felt she had no option other than to stop working to care for her dad after he was diagnosed with dementia.

She juggles her dad's care with regularly making a gruelling 11-hour round-trip from her home in Swansea to Southend to care for her blind mum.

The 57-year-old, who has a wealth of experience in everything from marketing to photography, said finding a flexible job that also allowed her to care for her parents was "nigh-on impossible" so instead she survives on £83-a-week carers allowance.

"I've looked everywhere, includ-ing remotely, but it is nigh-on impossible to find anything other than cleaning - and I do enough of that for my dad," she said.