Elderly residents living at a council-funded care home have been told to find a new place to live after it was announced it had to close.

Families are now facing a frantic rush to find a new care provider for their loved ones after the home failed a health and safety inspection.

The Blackburn Lodge in Broadway, Sheerness, will shut tomorrow (Friday) after the discovery of iron in the building’s water.

As a result, 13 residents are now being rehomed, sparking fears from family members that they will be left stressed and moved miles away.

David Sawyer’s mother-in-law Rita Bronger, 92, has been at the care home since 2018.

He and his wife Beverley, 63, of Chegworth Gardens, Sittingbourne, explained Rita could now end up in Dover or Deal.

“The care home has been absolutely superb and it’s appalling they’re closing it down,” retired Mr Sawyer said.

“We didn’t hear anything from Kent County Council, just from social services on Wednesday who told us it was shutting.

“It’s left us distressed and angry. The stress it will cause her is astronomical. It’s an appalling way to treat some people who have lived through a war. My wife is devastated. The residents and staff don’t deserve this.”

A KCC spokesperson said: “KCC has been informed that the results of recent water purity tests at Blackburn Lodge care home on the Isle of Sheppey confirmed that iron levels in the water supply have risen in contradiction of Health and Safety regulations and as a direct result, regrettably, the care home will close as of immediate effect.

“Currently, no related resident health issues have been identified and bottled water has been provided. KCC, the Sheppey Community Team and staff from Blackburn Lodge are now working together with residents and families at pace to identify appropriate new homes as soon as possible.”

Mr Sawyer, 64, said staff and residents had been using bottled water for a number of days because of the water problem.

Sheerness ward councillor Cllr Dolley Wooster (Lab) wants clarification from the county council about whether the site will reopen or not.

She said: “It will be a massive blow for the Sheerness area if it stays shut.

“I’ve had many people tell me they don’t know where their families are going. These are some of the most vulnerable people in the town and they’re being picked on.”

Cllr Wooster says the care home is the only council-funded care home on the Island, so if families are trying to find another similar they face travelling elsewhere in the county or even outside it.

She added: “I’m incredibly angry. They are splitting up people from their families.

“Sheerness is one of the most deprived areas – people here who are suffering can’t drive around the county to other places. It’s all so massively out of the blue. This will be detrimental to the residents’ health.”

Cllr Elliott Jayes (Swale Ind Alliance) said: “I hope this isn’t used as a way to close the care home down permanently. It’s horrible for the residents and they must be really distressed.”

The Sheppey Central councillor hopes KCC will commit to reopening the home soon.

He added: “There’s no hospice on the Island. People don’t want to be spending their last days off the Island where they’ve lived.”

A consultation on the care home’s future was planned before the Covid pandemic put things on hold.

KCC added: “Members of staff and relative unions are currently being consulted and supported with the intention that they will be redeployed.”

One woman, whose father used the services at the home, said: “I am appalled and upset to hear of the closing of Blackburn Lodge.

“My dad was there for just over two years, he sadly passed away last December and I could not have wished for better care for him, he loved it there and in his last days we were both cared for so well. The staff are a family, not just carers, I honestly do not know what I’d have done without them and I believe that no other care home would have given that care and support.

“The staff continued to care look out for me after my dad had passed, they knew I was on my own and they shared lots of memories with me. They are a very special community.

“I am appalled that the home is closing it is the only home on the island, there is no hospice near and they do such a wonderful job, is there no way that this special place can be saved?”