Train mad schoolboy's birthday surprise
A train-mad school-boy from Great Yarmouth had the birthday surprise of his life when a local construction company and charity gave him his very own replica locomotive.
A train-mad school-boy from Great Yarmouth had the birthday surprise of his life when a local construction company and charity gave him his very own replica locomotive.
Joshua Hill, 11, has the genetic disorder Angelman Syndrome, which means he cannot speak, struggles to walk and finds school-work difficult.
But he was so overjoyed about receiving a wooden train on his birthday, he reduced grown men to
tears.
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It was one of the most heart-warming outcomes of GY Woodstock - a community project that operates through a partnership between local construction company Morgan Ashurst and the mental health charity Mind.
To cut down on rubbish sent to landfill, Morgan Ashurst gives left-over timber to GY Woodstock, where people with mental health problems and volunteers use it to create rustic garden and bespoke items while gaining new skills.
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Joshua's grandmother, Jenny Hodgson, saw the site at Caister Road, Yarmouth, and was so impressed, she challenged volunteers to construct a free-standing train for Joshua's eleventh birthday.
It took around 60 hours to build the train - which features a bell and a fold-out table, so that Joshua can eat his dinner inside the cabin.
“We put our hands over his eyes when we took him out to see it,” said Mrs Hodgson. “He could not believe it when we showed him. He loved it to bits.
“Joshua is obsessed with trains. He is very well-known by the people who run the land train on the seafront and even after hours of travelling by train, he signs to me that he wants more.”
The popular youngster's enthusiasm also impressed Kevin Gill, who led the train building for GY Woodstock, as well as volunteer Alan Cutting, who said: “Kevin and I are grown men but we had tears in our eyes.
“It was a classic pull of the heart-strings. This was a real challenge for us, but seeing Joshua's reaction made everything worthwhile.
“All the volunteers, including Mark Slack, Andrea Bell and production supervisor Keith Bradley, knew that this was a job well done. We really appreciate Morgan Ashurst's help. Without them, we could not do this kind of thing.”
