Band of Builders charity adapts house of boy, 10, who lost all his limbs to meningitis

A group of volunteer builders has teamed up to transform the home of a 10-year-old boy who lost all four of his limbs to meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia.

Luke Mortimer, who lives in Embsay near Skipton, became a quad amputee when the bacterial infection spread quickly around his body in 2019.

He lost 50 per cent of his skin, endured 23 surgeries over a 10-week period, and spent five months in hospital.

His family moved to a bungalow that dad Adam, himself a builder, began adapting.

But the scale and range of the renovations needed were so challenging that Adam reached out to construction charity Band of Builders to help.

Founded in 2016, Band of Builders completes practical projects to help members of the UK construction industry who are battling illness or injury.

Volunteers come together to help their fellow tradespeople through renovations or repairs.

Adam said: "I reached out to Band of Builders, who are there to help anybody in the trade when they fall upon hard times.

"They came, assessed the house and said, ‘Yes, it’s definitely a project we can help with’. They came in and literally pulled the house apart and re-did it for us."

The eight-day project, which took place over the summer, reinstated some adaptations that had been installed for a man who had been paralysed, but which were removed after he died.

Changes included putting in a shower room, underfloor heating, and fitting new wooden flooring, as Luke and his older brother Harry spend a lot of time on the floor.

On touring his newly adapted and revamped home, Luke gave his verdict - he said: "On a scale of one to ten – or stars from zero to five – [it’s] definitely a five star."