DISABLED Bob Simmons asked council chiefs for double glazing to help him sleep at night.

But instead of kitting his flat out with new windows, they sent him two sets of earplugs instead.

Mr Simmons, aged 48, said he could not believe it when he opened a parcel from Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council refusing his request for windows to drown out the din near his home.

But he was even more amazed when he found the small rubber mufflers inside.

Mr Simmons, who is partially sighted, suffers from the life-threatening condition sleep apnoea, which leaves him constantly tired.

It means he has to hitch himself up to an oxygen machine every night when he goes to bed.

Noise from rowdy children and delivery wagons near his home in Skelton, east Cleveland, only adds to his constant fatigue.

When Mr Simmons, of Bylands Road, heard his council was launching a £600,000 home improvement scheme, he thought he might qualify for help.

He said: "What an insult. To send the earplugs is taking the micky."

He said he needed to hear his oxygen machine to ensure it was working correctly.

But a Redcar and Cleveland Council spokesman said the earplugs were a "genuine attempt" to solve the problems.

He said: "We are, of course, disappointed if Mr Simmons was upset in any way and are also dismayed that, to date, he has not responded to our offer to discuss the case further with him."

The spokesman said they had taken medical advice from a medical consultant, who said it was impossible to determine that outside noise contributed to his sleep disruption.