MORE than 20 staff at Melksham-based Knorr-Bremse Rail UK have helped to redecorate a large room at a local Leonard Cheshire care home near Chippenham.

They have painted and decorated the television lounge at Greathouse, a Victorian property at Kington Langley which provides a home for people with physical disabilities.

Knorr-Bremse staff based in Melksham, tackled the project in the run up to Christmas as part of the firm’s Local Care initiative.

Hilary Wood, the firm’s Senior HR Manager at Melksham, said: “We have supported Greathouse over a number of years but our latest achievement is probably one of the biggest yet attempted.”

Hilary, who has been closely involved with Greathouse, was approached and asked if Knorr-Bremse could perhaps help with some support for redecoration.

Greathouse is a Victorian building and its large TV room, a key meeting and socialising area for residents, had become very run down and tired.

Hilary said: “I thought more could be done than ‘just’ providing funds and formed a plan through Knorr-Bremse Local Care to not only fund the redecoration but to give Knorr-Bremse employees a chance to get involved.

“Following an all-employee request for volunteers based at Knorr-Bremse Melksham, many stepped forward, plans and rotas were drawn up and decorating began a couple of weeks before Christmas.

“The teams got been busy cleaning, sanding, filling, masking and painting and the project was completed in time for the residents to enjoy Christmas day in the room.”

Through Knorr-Bremse Local Care, volunteers are encouraged to take part during work hours but the size of this project meant many of the volunteers also worked in their own time too.

Hilary added: “This project is exactly what Knorr-Bremse Local Care is all about; providing real support to our local community and making a real difference to people’s lives.

“The completed refurbished room will make a massive difference to the lives of the residents and we’ve also funded some new furniture as the old furniture was in a really bad state. I want to say a big well done to the team who finished the work in time for Christmas.”

The Knorr-Bremse team included project team organisers Nerys Brocklehurst, James Cockram, Helen Forrester, Hugh Webber, Hilary Wood and Aly Wells and decorating team members Maureen Butler, Adam Collier, Maryanne Edwards, Harry Finch, Steve Ferris, Leonel Graca, Courtney Gwynne, Lucy Hopkins, Mary Hurrell, Jerry Lane, Peter Mantova, Tom Mitchell, Lynn Redfern Ricardas Slinkse and Neil Stevens.

Leonard Cheshire Disability is a charity supporting disabled people in the UK and around the world to fulfil their potential and live the lives they choose.

The charity aims to make a real difference to people’s lives by supporting them to develop skills through employment, volunteering and digital inclusion projects.