The Pot Company helps ‘DIY SOS’ bring dream to life
The Pot Company has helped BBC One's 'DIY SOS: The Big Build' create a stunning garden for a disabled father-of two, whose life was changed in a split second by a freak accident.
The leading wholesaler of planters and pots was contacted by the TV show last summer for help in creating a stunning outside space for Ben Wernham’s family home in the Cotswolds.
Project manager Ben, 33, had been living in a nursing home after a swimming pool accident left him paralysed from the neck down while on holiday in Cyprus in 2016.
On hearing his story, DIY SOS host Nick Knowles and his team galvanised support from local residents in the village of Avening and an array of industry experts to transform his ex council house into a stunning, wheelchair-friendly home and garden so Ben could move back in with his young family.
The Pot Company stepped in to donate some of their popular corten steel Atlas cylinders and clayfibre Chelsea boxes and cylinders for the new cleverly-adapted outside space, with the Kent-based firm’s general manager Tom also joining the 100-strong team of volunteers for “the big reveal”.
Viewers watching the show, which aired on BBC One on October 3rd, saw disabled Ben looking overwhelmed at the transformation, saying it had “made my life worth living again”.
Katie Weller of The Pot Company said: “We were so pleased to be involved in this amazing project with DIY SOS for Ben and his family in Avening.
“The show contacted us with a wish list and fortunately we were able to provide them with exactly what they were looking for.
“Although our planters were a very, very tiny part of the rebuild, it was really lovely to be able to help out and it’s great to see what can be achieved when enough people give what they can and collectively make a big difference to someone’s life. We wish Ben and his family all the best.”
DIY SOS: The Big Build - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006pnjk - launched in 1999 and takes on ambitious, life-changing projects which are completed in nine days often with 60 trades on site at once.