A SERIOUSLY-ill man has been forced to buy his own generator to make sure he has a vital daily oxygen supply after suffering almost 200 power cuts in his village near Worcester.

Fred Badger, who suffers from fibrosis of the lungs, needs an oxygen concentrator 24 hours a day to keep him alive - but because his home in Whitbourne suffers so many power cuts he has had to take drastic action.

"We have been here 35 years but we have never had to worry about it until now. It is a life at stake," said his wife Eileen.

The problem also affects businesses like GT Communications, run by Graham Taylor. He has had to have software reloaded because of the problems and claims he had to buy a device to prevent the cuts damaging his computer.

"Part of the reason we moved out here was because technology allows us to work from home," said Mr Taylor.

"We are dependant on email and the internet 24 hours a day. Telling people the brief they wanted is not ready because your computer's down is not very good for business."

Villager Ian Miller said there had been 193 power cuts in the past three years and he feared for vulnerable villagers.

"There are a number of elderly residents in the village and some of them live in social housing and their rental agreement prohibits them from storing bottles of gas," he said. "How are they going to keep themselves warm or cook food?

"Old people with poor sight using candles is hardly safe.

"I lived in Nigeria and the power cuts became a regular part of daily life. But you shouldn't have to expect that here. People should not have to live on the edge."

Mr Miller has collected more than 100 signatures on letters to Aquila, watchdogs Ofgen and Energy Watch, and Brian Wilson, the Energy Minister, calling for action.

Aquila Networks spokeswoman Caroline Boots said plans were in place for a refurbishment of the supply which would iron out the problems.

But it would not happen until late next year because the company was trying to catch up after the foot-and-mouth crisis put its schedule back by a year because it could not gain access to land.