A widow facing eviction by a loan company because of spiralling debts has won at least an extra five weeks in her Keighley home.

Doris Armstrong's legal team has submitted papers to a county court judge in Bradford, seeking a legal hearing to get the order overturned.

Grandmother Mrs Armstrong, 78, of Braithwaite Walk, has amassed a £39,000 debt on a £2,784 loan taken out in 1991. Interest charges were 45 per cent a year.

Manchester-based finance company Reunion Finance wants the money - or her former council home, worth about £39,000.

Her case has been taken up by Keighley MP Ann Cryer and a fighting fund set up to help meet the legal costs. The fund has reached £3,000.

A spokesman for Mrs Cryer said a lawyer on Tuesday presented legal documents to a judge, seeking a full hearing into the case.

It was not expected to take place until at least five weeks time.

"We will be going in and saying that the debt is extortionate and we will be looking for a complete dismissal. We hope the full merits of the case will be discussed," he said.

He said there was still a chance that the loan company would agree to drop the case at this stage.

Mrs Armstrong, who is blind in her left eye, took out the loan with her late son, David, to pay for home improvements.

Her husband died aged 40 in 1960, as a result of his time as a Japanese prisoner of war.

Trustees of the fighting fund are appealing for further support. Donations can be sent to Ann Cryer's office at 35 Devonshire Street, Keighley, or to the Yorkshire Bank, Keighley, sort code 050535, account number 17335510.