TWO disabled pensioners were given a helping hand by kind-hearted youngsters on Saturday.

Ronald Moon and his wife Josephine, both 80, had difficulty accessing their home because debris from an overhanging tree blocked the path to their front door.

Mr Moon says he had been trying to get authorities to clear the debris for three years without success so was delighted when a group of about 40 children turned up to remove the obstacles from the couple’s home in Vandyke, Great Hollands.

Mr Moon, who is a Blue Badge holder with limited mobility, thanked ward councillor Mary Temperton who helped organise the tidy-up.

He said: “Mary has been very helpful. The children picked up the twigs and branches and cleared it. We are very grateful for their help.

“I have been calling the council for three years and nothing has been done. I am disabled and my wife has diabetes and we are limited in what we can do.” The children – from the Bracknell Forest Fusion group – took part in a community tidy-up and were put in contact with the Moons by Cllr Temperton.

She said: “It was lovely to see the community spirit in Great Hollands and I’m very grateful to all the children. They wanted to do something for older people and I said you can’t just turn up at someone’s house.

“I spoke with Ron and it was brilliant for him. It was very successful and the amount they tidied up was amazing – there were so many bags.” Bracknell Forest Fusion is a community youth project working with nine to 13-year-olds which aims to instill confidence in youngsters.

Callie Welch, one of the organisers, said the children had taken part in the litter pick in the morning before holding an open event at The Zone in the afternoon.

She said: “It was a fantastic day. The young people worked very hard and showed great commitment. We had an extremely good turnout.” After a successful 10-week trial, involving more than 60 youngsters, in Great Hollands, the group will move to Owlsmoor.

Organisers hope young- sters will continue to volunteer in Great Hollands – with support from Fusion – and want to roll out the programme across the borough.