Goodwin Electrical on DIY SOS Plymouth BBC1 24th October at 8pm
Goodwin Electrical gave up 10 days to help on the Big Build DIY SOS project in Yealmpton, Plymouth. When the invitation came Goodwin Electrical could not resist. We found out on the induction day we had known the Morfey family for some time having purchased a motorbike from their show room at Dream Machine Motorcycles in Modbury. We had no idea until DIY SOS that Chris and his family had a home in need of help.
In Plymouth, the DIY SOS team and volunteers helped the Morfey family: Chris and Tara, 24-year-old Ben, 25-year-old Josh, twins Jess and Yazz (15) and their little brother Vinny (9). Both Ben and Josh suffer from cerebral palsy, and after struggling in a multi-level home in Plymouth – and without enough funds to make it disabled friendly – the family have sold up and bought a cheap, old iron forge that, when renovated, will provide single-storey living in the Plymouth countryside.
The family have been living in an on-site caravan while Chris has worked tirelessly to build a bedroom extension for all the family. But disaster struck last year when daughter Yazz was diagnosed with leukemia and needed life-saving treatment miles away in Bristol – supported by mum Tara. A year later, their home remains half-built. They have no heating, hot water, kitchen or living space, and dad Chris can’t get back to work to pay for the build to be completed without Tara at home to care for the family. If they can’t build a clean, dry and warm house, not only will severely disabled Ben remain in residential care away from his beloved brother Josh but Tara and Yazz won’t be able to return home to finish Yazz’s treatment with the family by her side.
They are all struggling mentally, emotionally and physically, and now son Vinny has developed a heart murmur from the stress of being separated from his mum and living on a building site.
To put this family back together and give their disabled boys as much independence as possible, as well as provide a suitable space where Yazz can recover from cancer, the team will need to do something quite different from any build we have done so far: they will need to convert a forge built back in the 1700s into an open-plan kitchen, living zone and medical storage area, while retaining the charm and heritage of this unusual building.
