PARENTS of a terminally ill toddler from Newton Abbot have lashed out at an uncaring government department for rejecting a bid to secure a life-enhancing disability buggy for their ailing child.

Emma and Kevin Murphy, of Albert Terrace, are upset that little Stanley, who suffers from the rare mobility-restricting Tay-Sachs disease, does not qualify for a specially adapted car until he is three – by which time the condition could have claimed his short life.

But the hard-line Department of Works and Pensions has insisted that ‘rules are rules’ and they cannot deviate from legal guidelines.

Emma said this week: ‘I don’t think the people who make these decisions have a clue what life is really like when you have a poorly child.’

She added: ‘Stanley, who is nearly two, might not live until he is three. To be told he can’t get help that he needs until he is three is not right.’

The couple’s application to make Stanley’s life-limiting condition more bearable was made under the Disability Living Alliance mobility scheme.

Emma complained: ‘There are lots of children who unfortunately have very short lives, then you don’t have time on your side.

‘You want to make the best out of every day and to get out and about is a massive part of that.

‘We want to give Stanley the quality of life he deserves while he is with us.’

A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions confirmed it was not able to pursue the application from Emma and Kevin because the age restriction was dictated by law.

Applications could be submitted three months before the child turned three to allow time for the benefit to be paid on the actual birthday.

Tay-Sachs, a degenerative genetic disorder, leads to death in infancy by attacking the nervous system.

Just one in 360,000 babies worldwide are born with the disease. Sufferers rarely survive beyond the age of five.

Emma has described Stanley as a happy boy who enjoys the company of children and loves going outside in his pushchair.