Severely-disabled Charlotte Wyatt may never be allowed home from hospital because of the concerns of social workers about the ability of her parents to cope with her care, the couple said yesterday.

Darren, 34, and Debbie Wyatt, 24, have revealed that an assessment is currently under way to look at both their housing needs and their ability to look after their two-year-old daughter.

Charlotte's condition has improved significantly in recent months and St Mary's Hospital in Portsmouth, where she has remained since she was born, has said she may be able to come home permanently in the spring.

She was allowed home for the first time unsupervised on Christmas Day.

Mrs Wyatt said that they had filmed themselves looking after Charlotte for two four-hour periods this week to prove they had the skills to care for their daughter.

She said they had under-gone extensive training provided by the hospital to enable them to look after Charlotte's specialist needs.

The Wyatts, who are both unemployed, also believe that their two-bedroom flat is an obstacle to them having Charlotte back home.

At present, their two sons Daniel, three, and David, one, share a room while Christina, three months, sleeps in a cot in the parents' room.

Mrs Wyatt said: "They have said we can't have her home even if we did have a bigger home because they say we can't look after her.

"But that's not true and we can provide the proof now after taping ourselves looking after her."

Mr Wyatt said: "They haven't re-housed us to a place big enough to take Charlotte and all her medical equipment and now they're saying we can't have her anyway.

"They're making little excuses like the flat is untidy, or there was a dirty nappy on the floor.

"They just turn up on your doorstep and start saying things about how you're caring for your children. They say we can't cope but I know we can."