An autistic youngster and his family have been given a new lease of life with a bedroom conversion made possible by kind-hearted Keighley people.

Damian Clough's bedroom in Westbank Rise has been turned into a padded play area, paid for by funds raised in the town.

And the colourful new room has met with approval from the energetic three-year-old and his parents, David and Julie.

However, they are asking Social Services in Bradford to make his window safer after the youngster was caught hanging half way out of it.

David said: "We have been waiting to do this for such a long time and it will make a huge difference for all of us because we know that Damian will be safe when he plays in his room.''

Damian's condition means he has no concept of what causes pain and David and Julie have to be vigilant every second of the day. Before the conversion his bedroom was a potential minefield, and the youngster almost hanged himself on his cot on one frightening occasion.

That led David and Julie to strip his room of all furniture apart from a mattress.

David added: "He still doesn't have any speech and very little eye contact and we were saying four weeks ago that if we didn't get this done before winter we'd have a very difficult time.

"Now he is three he's starting to understand things more but he can't communicate them so he's getting more aggressive.''

The couple say they owe a debt of thanks to Graham Powney, managing director of Garforth-based Solutions, the company responsible for the conversion.

"The total cost of the conversion is £2,600 and so far we have managed to raise £1,800. Graham is a friend of the family and he said that because of Damian's needs and because it was coming up to winter, he was happy to do the work now and have the balance later," said David.

The family have also expressed their thanks to local fundraisers, including Wask RMF and Laycock First School.

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