A GIFT from Steeton-based Acorn Stairlifts has enabled a leukaemia sufferer to stay in her own home.

The firm installed a stairlift for free at the Hampstead house of grandmother Sheena Gibbs.

The donation was part of a partnership between Acorn and Marie Curie which will see stairlifts provided in patients' homes across the country.

Sheena had spent several months in hospital and at a hospice.

"When I was in the hospice the occupational health team suggested a stairlift because I wouldn't be able to manage the stairs at home," she said.

"It has given me my independence back. I can go upstairs, use the toilet, go to bed and come back downstairs in the morning to a normal life."

Acorn company secretary, Dave Belmont, said the firm was delighted to be supporting Marie Curie patients.

"We plan to install up to 60 stairlifts a year for patients who would benefit from returning home but need help with mobility," he added.