AN emotional mum is grateful after the community has helped fund vital equipment for her disabled daughter.

Earlier this year Kirsty Shoots from Evesham appeared in the paper talking about the struggles her daughter Zara who has complex special needs faces particularly at bedtime due to lack of funding for a special sensory bed that she requires.

But Miss Shoots has now been approached by a soft play company who offered to custom make Zara a bed. Friends raised the £1000 through crowdfunding to cover this and the bed will be delivered the first week of January.

Miss Shoots said: "As well as the bed Rooftop Housing Group have offered us a three-bed fully adapted bungalow which we can move into in the new year. We are now very excited; everything has happened at once. It’s so emotional as it’s such a big weight that has been lifted and I know our quality of life is about to improve so much."

The mum of two is on universal credit and sometimes uses foodbanks to feed her family.

Zara, 2 and-a-half is non-verbal, and has global development delay which means she has the mental age of 9-12-month-old child. She also has low tone dystrophy which causes mobility issues.

She also struggles sleeping through the night and wakes up for long periods of time.

Miss Shoots said: "During this time she can become very upset and throws herself aggressively against the side of her cot and kicks it causing injuries to herself."

"Zara needs to be ‘contained’ in order to feel safe and switch off at night otherwise she will pace until around 4am when she collapses from exhaustion. She has gone as long as 22 hours without sleep."

"The safe space will improve her sleep and increase the amount of sleep she has as well protect her from harm and be used as a sensory den in the daytime."