Life has been transformed for a 16-year-old Crohn’s disease sufferer thanks to a Steeton firm.

Acorn Stairlifts stepped in to help Joshua Fox, who had been virtually confined to the first floor of his home.

Engineers from the company, based at Millennium Business Park, donated a refurbished stairlift and installed it at Joshua’s Doncaster home.

The youngster’s mum, Rachel Fox, said: “Joshua is fed via a feed through his chest and has to carry the machinery and bag up and down the stairs.

“He was so exhausted during the day he would only come down at lunchtime, and went back upstairs at 4pm as it was such an effort to climb back up. He lived life in his bedroom, and his opportunity to interact with the family was severely limited.

“The stairlift has given Joshua a sense of independence and control, which has been great.

“Seeing the impact it’s had on Joshua’s freedom, and the interaction he can now have with the family, we really can’t imagine life without the stairlift.”

Acorn Stairlifts launched an initiative last November to support all three children’s hospices in Yorkshire, including Bluebell Wood, where Joshua was a patient, by donating refurbished stairlifts to families in need.