Edna Hirst, 77, of Middleton Court has been diagnosed with wet age-related macular degeneration and faces complete loss of sight in her right eye.

Mrs Hirst's sight can be saved if it is treated early enough, but she has been told by her specialist at Bridlington Hospital she has very little chance of receiving NHS funding.

She said: "I was told that this condition proceeds very quickly.

"It could be weeks or it could be months, but if I don't get this operation I could lose the sight in this eye completely.

"There is a 50-50 chance that it will go into my other eye, so I could end up completely blind," she said.

Macular degeneration occurs when the delicate cells behind the eye become damaged over time, resulting in a loss of central vision, which can lead to complete blindness if left untreated.

Mrs Hirst said her specialist wanted to perform the operation, a series of injections to the eye, but said his 'hands were tied' when it came to funding.

A spokesman for the East Riding of Yorkshire Primary Care Trust said: "All applications for treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration are considered very carefully on an individual patient basis.

"The PCT has been following a policy set by the Yorkshire and Humber Specialised Comissioning Group to ensure that patients across the East Riding of Yorkshire receive fair and equitable treatment."

Mrs Hirst is not hopeful she will get the treatment as the Primary Care Trust recently refused a pensioner in the same position – Dorothy Lyon, 81, of Gilberdyke.

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is disappointed at the lack of funds being made available to those suffering from the disease.

A spokesman for the charity said: "The clock is literally ticking for many patients across the country who risk losing their sight because PCTs, like East Riding of Yorkshire, are denying them sight-saving treatment."

He added it was a 'tragic irony' that patients are refused operations on financial grounds when the long-term costs of caring for blind people were significantly higher that the one-off cost of the treatment.

"RNIB is urging all PCTs to throw patients, like Mrs Hirst, a lifeline by making sight-saving treatment available immediately, and without question.

"By acting now PCTs could end a national scandal that has seen thousands needlessly robbed of their sight."

Mrs Hirst is writing to Bridlington MP Greg Knight and has also called on town Mayor Coun Ray Allerston to help her in her fight to save her eyesight.

"The NHS should find the funding," said Coun Allerston, "If she doesn't get seen to she could go blind.

"She shouldn't have to ask for funding, she should be able to get the operation on the NHS. That's what it's there for."

The PCT has not yet received an authorisation request for Mrs Hirst's treatment from her opthalmologist, but said it will consider her case once an application is received.

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