Council officials said they decided against renewing the contract for East Boro’s Handy Van Service due to “cost implications.”
Disabled Brenda Boyd, of Whitehorse Drive, Oakdale, said she was disgusted to discover the council had pulled the plug.
The 71-year-old first learned the scheme was unavailable after a friend tried to get help.
“My friend needed a toilet seat put on, but was told the council had discontinued the service,” said Brenda. “I couldn’t believe it, so many people rely on it.
“So I rang East Boro Handy Van to check and they said the Poole council had indeed stopped the service.”
Poole and Bournemouth council’s jointly commissioned the service in 2008.
“I’ve had them down and they’re great,” Brenda added. “If they have to buy anything you pay for the parts, but the service – the labour – is free.
“A friend of mine who has since passed away used to have them come out to turn her mattress, because it was too heavy for her – she was in her nineties.
“Could I put a washer on a tap? No I couldn’t. Could I get up and change a lightbulb? No, because I cannot climb a stepladder.
“I’m quite lucky because I have a daughter who will do it for me, but many older people have no children or their children live elsewhere, or have have even died.
“A lot of elderly and disabled people rely on the handyman service.
“Speaking to the council is like banging your head against a brick wall.”
A Borough of Poole spokesman told the Daily Echo that while the council no longer subsidises the service, it will be “signposting to similar services provided by national charities.”
The spokesman explained: “Borough of Poole and Bournemouth Borough Council had jointly commissioned East Borough Housing to deliver a ‘Handy Van Service’ since 2008.
“The contract came to an end on September 30 this year and following a review of the service, Borough of Poole decided not to continue funding the provision of the service due to the cost implications.”
Meanwhile, Bournemouth Council’s senior commissioning officer Hannah Wilson confirmed Bournemouth is currently in the process of reissuing a contract for “a handy van service” for the next three years.
She added: “The outcome of the procurement process has not been completed yet.
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