Disabled teenager's garden makeover 'fantastic'

The mother of a teenage boy with complex medical needs said a 48-hour makeover of their overgrown garden will make a "massive difference to him".

Matthew, 17, has cerebral palsy with severe epilepsy, vision impairment, limited mobility and is also on oxygen most of the time.

Volunteers from WellChild, the national charity for seriously ill children have transformed his garden in Penhill in Swindon as part of its Helping Hands project.

Matthew's mother, Ellen said: "He's loving it. You can tell he's loving it. I've got so many people wanting to come and see it."

The fully funded "DIY SOS-style garden makeover" was completed over just two days by a team of volunteers.

Matthew's garden now includes a blue swing, a red border and much more space.

Ellen, said it was completely different from the back garden she had 48 hours ago.

"It had a massive big hole in it, a broken swing and weeds all over the place and you just couldn't move around it," she said.

"This is a massive difference to him. They've done a fantastic job - I love it."

She said the transformation will make "a lot" of difference to the family.

"I wish my husband was here to see it. I lost him in November. He would have absolutely loved this."

Roger Merritt, from WellChild, said it had been a "tough couple of days" creating a safe accessible area where Matthew and his mother could play together.

"It was a real stretch. Up to the last 10 to 15 minutes we were still touch-and-go but we just about got there," he said.

"You couldn't even get in the garden [at the start]. We had a few obstacles to overcome but the outcome is amazing. It's going to be lifechanging for Matthew."

The Cheltenham-based charity said such events could not happen without its corporate volunteers and sponsors.

Volunteer Alex said it was "one of the best days of the year for work for sure".

"We spend most of our day in front of an Excel [spreadsheet] in the office," he said.

"So getting out and getting our hands dirty and seeing the difference that we can make to someone's life is just incredible."

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