article: Help for Heroes has launched a fundraising drive to keep World War II veteran Robert Clark in his own home after a London council refused to pay for his ongoing care. Brent Council said it was no longer able to afford to pay for a live-in carer to stay with the 96-year-old former prisoner of war, despite the fact that Mr Clark spent his £50,000 life savings on contributing to his care. Now, the council want to move Mr Clark from the house he has lived in for the past 50 years into a care home because they claim it is cheaper. Scroll down for video . Help for Heroes has given Robbie Clark, pictured, an emergency grant so he can remain at home in London . The JustGiving paged more than half of the £5,000 target within a couple of hours of it going live this morning . However, Help for Heroes has launched its own JustGiving page to help Mr Clark. The charity has already given Mr Clark and emergency grant to fund his immediate care needs, but they are seeking the public's help to secure his future. They have so far raised £2,736.22 of the £5,000 needed. Any extra money will go towards the care of other former servicemen and women in need of assistance. Linda Walton, head of grants at Help for Heroes, said: 'Help for Heroes is all about supporting those who have been psychologically or physically wounded in service of our country. 'Robbie suffered severe anxiety and distress as a prisoner of war during the Second World War, and it is wrong that he should be subject to these feelings once again. 'We will do everything we can to ensure Robbie gets the support he deserves.' Mr Clark is one of Britain's oldest surviving prisoners of war  - and one of the few British soldiers to survive Hitler's 1,000-mile death march - has been given the emergency grant through the Help for Heroes quick reaction fund. Having spent his savings on home care, Mr Clark, from Brent, north west London, faced being forced out of his home into a residential care home, something he said would 'remind me of being a prisoner of war'. Mr Clark is blind, deaf in one ear and dependent on a wheelchair, suffered 'severe anxiety' when he was a prisoner of war. A total of 165,000 people have signed a petition calling for home help, the charity said. More than £2,500 has been donated on a JustGiving fundraising page. Mr Clark was a gunner in the Durham Light Infantry when he was captured by the Nazis in the North African city of Tobruk in June 1942. He spent the rest of the war in prison camps in Poland, before being forced to join the ‘death march’ in 1945. Hitler ordered thousands of PoWs to march west for four months in extreme winter weather as the Russians advanced from the East. Writing home: Veteran Robert Clark, pictured in 1940, when he was serving with Durham Light Infantry . Robert Clark (front row, second left) pictured on June 21, 1943 at prisoner of war camp Campo PG70 in Italy . After the war, the soldier married his sweetheart Rita and worked as a carpenter. In 1969 the couple moved into the house where he still lives in Burnt Oak, north London. Mrs Clark died in 2010 aged 91. Now a great-great-grandfather and one of Britain’s oldest surviving PoWs, Mr Clark is registered blind, deaf in one ear and is dependent on a wheelchair. For the past two years he has used his £50,000 savings to pay towards a £960-a-week live-in carer, while Brent Council contributed £350 a week. But as his money runs out, the council is refusing to increase its funding and Mr Clark may have to go into a care home instead. His son, Mike, who said his home in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, is not suitable for the pensioner, added: ‘This is causing my father to be very anxious and he is unable to sleep. ‘He’s as good as told me that if he has to move, he’ll just give up on life. Whenever he’s been in hospital, he … pulls the blankets over his head and stops talking. ‘He hates being anywhere which isn’t familiar … going into a care home will be like going back into a prisoner of war camp.’ Despite tens of thousands signing the petition to allow Mr Clark to stay in his own home, Brent Council said they will not increase their funding for a live-in carer. The council’s Phil Porter said: ‘We recognise Mr Clark’s contribution to this country and sincerely empathise with the situation that he and other older people … are in. ‘However … the care package that Mr Clark is choosing is not affordable to council taxpayers given the constraints of local government funding and the need to be consistent for the 2,900 people we support.’ He added: ‘Mr Clark owns his home, so there is absolutely no question of Brent Council evicting him despite what has been suggested in this petition.’ The council said Mr Clark’s needs can be met in a care home for £451 a week. Alternatively, he could choose to receive the same weekly sum and stay at home, but would have to pay the extra amount necessary for a carer. Mr Porter said: ‘We want to find a solution which meets his eligible social care needs, provides value for money for the taxpayer, but also reflects the choices he has made and the additional cost this creates.’ He added that the council had offered ‘a deferred payment which means he doesn’t need to sell his house to pay for his care’. After signatures hit the 127,000 mark this morning, a spokeswoman said: 'Our position hasn't changed since the petition was at 75,000.' Mr Clark’s family reported the case to the Local Government Ombudsman, but the watchdog agreed with the council.
highlights: Great-grandfather Robert Clark has lived in the house for 50 years .
  He has spent £50,000 life savings on a live-in carer over last two years .
  Brent Council says it cannot afford the care package the veteran wants .
  Help for Heroes has launched a fundraising drive to pay for Robert's care .
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