Acorn Stairlifts has donated a stairlift to Jelly Babies Nursery to help a boy with cerebral palsy get up and down the stairs.

The stairlift manufacturer offered to donate and install one of its stairlifts free of charge after hearing about how Carter Lee would not be able to get up the stairs at Jelly Babies Nursery in Bolton, Manchester.

Carter is two-and-a-half years old and has attended Jelly Babies since he was five months old and is very happy there. However, he would need to use the upper floor of the nursery at the age of three where the three to four-year olds play, meaning he would be unable to get safely up and down the staircase due to his cerebral palsy, which restricts his mobility.

It meant his mum, Claire, and dad, Jason, faced the unwanted prospect of having to move him.

“He’s so happy and settled here and as a parent you just want your children to be happy,” said Claire.

“He’s also got lots of friends and I hope that when the time comes for him to go to school he will be going with them, which will make it easier.”

Staff at the nursery were also keen to keep Carter there, with Jelly Babies Nursey Owner Maxine Phillips, commenting: “Everyone loves Carter and the last thing we wanted was to lose him but I had to think about the pressure on our staff to get him up and down the stairs, and the safety issues it would cause.”

Together, Maxine and Claire launched a fundraising campaign for a stairlift and Claire began contacting stairlift suppliers for quotes, which is where Acorn got involved.

Gareth Deegan, Assistant UK Sales Manager at Acorn, commented: “When we heard Carter’s story and just how much it meant for everyone to keep him at Jelly Babies, we knew we could do our bit.

“We decided to donate and install one of our stairlifts free of charge.”

Acorn’s made-to-measure stairlift was installed for an excited Carter to take his first trip upstairs but will also be available for other children or visitors who might need it in future.

“I just couldn’t believe it when Acorn said they’d do it for free,” said Claire. “Everything just seemed to fall into place and it will make a massive difference for Carter.”

Based in Steeton, West Yorkshire, Acorn Stairlifts is a manufacturer and installer of stairlifts, producing around 70,000 stairlifts per year at its UK factories.

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